Second Chance (Harry Potter time travel fanfic)
by alessandramottam
Summary: Hermione, Ginny, Bill, Ron, and Arthur are the last of the Order living. It has been eight years since the final battle and the light won. Death Eaters started rising again in revenge and the wizarding community is in chaos. Hermione eventually finds a way to fix everything by being sent back in time. What happens when she is sent back? Where in the past does she end up?
1. Chapter 1

**Published on: 3/9/20**

**Words: 2,176**

**Hermione POV**

I am currently on my way to Lake Avalon, where Vivien, the Lady of the Lake, used to live. There is a cottage nearby where her last descendant lives. After five years of preparing, I'm finally ready to go. I can and must change everything. Voldemort is dead but the world is still in chaos because, after two years of peace, a fucking death eater decided to kill Harry. He was in Diagon Alley with Ginny; who was seven months pregnant; when a death eater came up behind him and pointed his wand at Ginny. He was angry about something and wanted revenge on Harry for it. Harry jumped in front of Ginny as the death eater fired the killing curse. Everything since then has been chaos. The loose death eaters came out and started attacked everyone randomly. Almost everyone that fought for the light is dead. All that is left fighting is Ginny, Ron, Bill, Arthur, and me. Luna is still alive but she doesn't fight since she now has a kid of her own and she watches over James Sirius Potter, Harry's only kid.

It has been eight years since Voldemorts defeat and six years since Harry's death. I spent those same six years looking for a way to fight against all this chaos. Ron and I broke up after Harry's death because I wanted to put my whole being into finding a way to fight back. He ended up with Luna and they currently have one kid with me as her godmother and Bill as her godfather. The same six years of finding a way to end this, I have been preparing to go back in time. It was the only solution I had. I found the answer in one of the books in Sirius's library. I had read all of them and losing hope with every book I finished. I had read every book at Hogwarts, and Flourish and Botts and starting to finish Sirius's set. It was in one of the books about myths that I found the answer. It was a box called Merlin's box. It had the ability to send someone back in time without risks of paradoxes. The only problem was that only one was made and no one knows where it is. Also, the user can only use the device once with no possibility of coming back. Another thing is that the time period traveled is, most likely, chosen by The Box. A new identity is chosen by The Box. And The Box is capable of refusing service if it considers the user unworthy. According to the legend, "One has to go to the place where the finest student of the greatest four, has lost his heart to the woman on the other shore."

When I found this, there was a meeting about using it. At first, they were against it but after arguing with me about it and me mentioning that I would do it with or without their help, they agreed. So I went to where the legend said and I met up with the last descendant of Vivien and she answered my questions about the box. The box also chose me worthy of using it so I just had to prepare. I can remember that day as if it was yesterday.

* * *

**Flashback**

_I had found the cottage hiding in a passage near the lake. I went in and found a lady on a couch in the living area. We greeted each other and she let me in. Once I was seated and had a cup of tea in my hands, the woman continued. "Well, first of all, my Name is Mrs. Aurora Gamp. I am the guardian of Merlin's Boxes, as well as a current resident of this house. It used to belong to Vivien of Avalon, and that is why the Boxes were all in here," she paused to see if I understood what she was talking about. After I nod, she continued. "Now, I do have the box and, unfortunately, it can only serve one person," she said with a sad smile. "Okay, next question," Aurora continued. "The paradox stuff is rather hard to explain, but I will try my best. You see, when a person uses the Box, his soul and magic are transported. The user finds himself in a new body. The new body should be of the same gender and have a few similar features, but most of it would be different. Merlin called it the 'fresh start factor'," Mrs. Gamp chuckled. "I guess that also answers your identity question," she added. "And yes, once the old memories hit the new body, it would most likely result in a relatively painful migraine for around half an hour. But it's noting a normal person couldn't handle," she shrugged. "Anyway, continuing with the paradoxes. Think about the box as about a mechanism that creates a new reality, without the original you in it. In other words, you were born in the time the Box chose for you, and that's it," Aurora said as if all of that made perfect sense. "And no, you cannot choose which year you are going to. You will only find that out, once you're already there," she put in._

_"There is some good news, though," she added seeing my obvious disappointment. "The Box will not put the user in a time that would not be relevant to the reason he was seeking the box in the first place. Let me use a simple example for this," Aurora said quickly after I gave her a questioning look. "If you wanted to use the box, because your favorite uncle lost his wand when he was five, the box would not send you back further than when you couldn't prevent that from happening. It would, however, choose a period in that time range, which would suit your personal needs and the needs of those around you the most. Basically, it puts you in the time you want, as well as the time you're needed in. Is that clear?" she asked. "Yes actually. Thank you," I answered. "That's great," Aurora smiled. "Now, the 'worthy' part is the easiest one to explain," she continued. "The Box simply searches your mind for the required qualities, i.e. compassion, determination, intelligence, etc. Simple, really," she waved it off. After a second, her face lit up with excitement. "Now, I think that's it. Would you like to see the box?" I nodded enthusiastically and followed Mrs. Gamp to the room further down the corridor. When I finally saw the Box, I couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed. I expected something grand and magnificent. Like the house. Instead, there was a medium-sized, simple-looking, brown wood, rectangular-shaped box. It had some carving on it, but it was nothing significant. And then a thought hit me. _Who cares how the Box looked? It could help me change history_. Once I realized that; the Box seemed to become much more precious looking._

_"Okay, Hermione. Just put your hands on the Box and we will see if you can use it," Mrs. Gamp looked at me expectantly. When she saw my hesitant expression, she continued. "Don't worry, dear, it will not transport you straight away. For that you would have to open it," she explained. "For now, we will only determine if it considers you worthy. So go ahead," Aurora tried to encourage me. I calmed myself down and put my hands on the Box. After a few moments, the box started glowing yellow. "Well, isn't that interesting," Aurora said, frowning a little. "Does this mean that I qualify?" I asked hesitantly. "Yes, but it also means that you're not ready and/or capable of doing it yet," she replied. "Excuse me?" I said angrily. "Oh, don't give me your attitude, child." Aurora rolled her eyes. "You can open it now if you want to. It simply suggests doing some additional preparation for the journey, so you could actually achieve something." "How can I do additional preparation, if I don't even know which time period I will land in?" I all but shouted."That might be true," the woman said calmly. "However, you do know your mission. Therefore, you could learn the basic facts that would help you in any time period," she reasoned. "In addition, extra training and research wouldn't hurt you, would it?" "Oh. Uh, Yes, certainly," I answered, feeling like an idiot. Of course, I should get all the information available. I should even try and get memories of everyone involved. Aurora was right, if I was doing it, I might as well do it right. "I apologize for my rudeness. You are right, of course," I blushed. "I should go and get started," I concluded._

_"Nice to see you finally came to your senses," Mrs. Gamp replied sounding amused. "Take as long as you need. Once the box chooses the user, it will not consider anyone else," she assured me and led me to the door. "That is really good to know," I relaxed. "Thank you for everything, Mrs. Gamp. I hope to see you soon," I added. "I am sure you will, dear," Aurora smiled. "Good luck," she said and went back inside. I looked at the house once more and apparated home. I had a lot of work to do._

**End of Flashback**

* * *

I finally got to the Lake, so I landed and got off my broom and started walking towards to passage with the cottage in it. I got over my fear of flying a year after Harry died. All the Weasleys taught me and so did Viktor when I went to Bulgaria to look through the libraries there. In the past six years, I have been through every library that I could reach. By going everywhere, I got to learn so many languages so that is a plus. Now I also know Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Bulgarian, French, Latin, Russian, German, Hungarian, Italian, and Romanian. As the overachiever that I am, I learned two languages every year. I did this because I've always wanted to travel the world and also because there were spells in those languages that were helpful in saving the people I could for as long as I could. I also worked on training my body with the help of Charlie, while he was alive, and Bill. I also studied everything on what Voldemort since the day he knew about magic. Two things that I did without anyone knowing was learning parseltongue and becoming an animagus.

I was able to learn parseltongue because during the Horcrux hunt; after Ron left, Harry and I did two rituals that I read about so we could ensure each other's safety. The first one was a blood ritual so he and I would have rights over the other's things just in case one of us was killed. The other was a magic transfer ritual that made each of us have an equal amount of the other's magic. Because Voldemort's magic was also in Harry at the time, his ability to speak to snakes came with his magic, as well as Voldemort's affinity for dark magic. It helps since I was able to learn all types of spells thanks to it, but I only used dark spells when it was an absolute emergency.

Going on to my animagus form, well forms since I have more that one. Ironically, one of my forms is a lioness. My other forms is a phoenix and a snake. I don't like using my snake form because it reminds me of Voldemort but it helps when trying to get into tight places.

"Hello, child. Ready?" I was brought out of my thoughts as I reached the porch of the house and saw Mrs. Gamp. I smiled at her. "I won't ever be ready but this has to be done. We can't live like this anymore," I said and she nodded. "Come then, my child. Let's not waste any time," she said and I nodded. She led me inside to where the box was. "The Box will come back to this place when you go back. It won't matter when you end up, the box always comes back here for safekeeping until the next person needs it," she said and I nodded. I grabbed the box and opened it. This time the Box had a bright white glow around it, which made us both smile. I thought I was ready for what was about to happen, and the Box confirmed it. _Talk about a confidence boost_. I smiled at Mrs. Gamp one last time and then a bright blue light was the last thing I saw before I passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Published on: 3/10/20**

**Words: 2,580**

**Third Person POV**

Now, Merlin's Box is a peculiar device. If Hermione had read 'The Story of a muggle-born named Arthur', she would have known what to expect. Alas, she was too busy to think about any unimportant details before she left. That was a mistake on her part. The thing is, the Box does not merely change one's surname and sends that person back. No. It gives the user a new life. Everything is new; from the very beginning. Let me explain this using Hermione's case. Hermione, as you know, was transported into a new body. What you didn't know, is that the body was of a baby; a baby girl, who did not exist in the original timeline. The birth of this beautiful girl was the exact moment when a new timeline was created, and the old one simply faded away. All because of a girl named Hermione Irina Evans. But that's not all. You see, Merlin knew that a baby's body would not survive a memory rush that was bound to happen. Therefore, he created a charm that would suppress the user's original memories for eleven years. The reasoning behind it was questionable, yet understandable. If a person was old enough to own a wand, he was old enough to face his destiny. Right? So this is where the story continues. With a girl who is about to receive a rather unpleasant birthday gift.

**Hermione POV**

It is the day before my birthday and Lily is going through her closet for the tenth time today looking for an outfit for tomorrow. Lily Is my twin sister. We were both born on January 30, 1960, and today is January 29, 1971. We are turning 11 this year and she is very excited about it. Tomorrow is Saturday so we have the whole day with our parents and Severus is coming by too. But having the whole to at home isn't what's got Lily so happy. She's happy because, in a few months, we should be receiving Hogwarts letter stating that we would be studying there to learn about magic. Lily and I are witches and Severus is a wizard.

Severus is our childhood friend. He's the one that told us about magic when he saw what Lily and I did. We put a daisy on our plans and then made it fly up. We were showing it to Tuney, our older sister, and she got angry with us and called us freaks. Ever since then, we avoided doing magic in front of her. Strangely enough, Lily and I have total control of our magic. Severus has some control since his magic is controlled from his emotions while Lily and I only have to think about it. All three of us are close but I know Severus likes Lily in a different way than just friendship. I have kept this to myself since I found out but I don't think Lily will end up with Severus. It's just a feeling.

"Lily, stop going in there, already! The outfit you chose two hours ago was fine," I said and exhaustion. "It can't be 'fine', it has to be perfect," she said and I sighed. I got off of my bed and went into my closet. I went to where my dresses were and pulled out a green one. I got out of my closet and gave it to Lily. "There, now stop going in there," I said and went to my bed. I heard Lily squeal and then she ran up behind me and hugged me. "Thank you, sis," I patted her hands and she pulled away. "Yeah, yeah. Now put that dress down and got get ready in something comfy so we can go and meet Severus," I said and she left. I sighed and shook my head. I was already ready so I just grabbed my guitar from beside my bed and started playing.

* * *

_You don't know how you met me_

_You don't know why_

_You can't turn around and say goodbye_

_All you know is when I'm with you_

_I make you free_

_And swim through your veins like a fish in the sea_

_I'm singin'_

_Follow me everything is alright_

_I'll be the one to tuck you in at night_

_And if you_

_Want to leave I can guarantee_

_You won't find nobody else like me_

_I'm not worried 'bout the ring you wear_

_Cuz as long as no one knows then nobody can care_

_You're feelin' guilty and I'm well aware_

_But you don't look ashamed and baby I'm not scared_

_I'm singin'_

_Follow me everything is alright_

_I'll be the one to tuck you in at night_

_And if you_

_Want to leave I can guarantee_

_You won't find nobody else like me_

_Won't give you money_

_I can't give you the sky_

_You're better off if you don't ask why_

_I'm not the reason that you go astray and_

_We'll be all right if you don't ask me to stay_

_I'll be the one to tuck you in at night_

_And if you_

_Want to leave I can guarantee_

_You won't find nobody else like me_

_You don't know how you met me_

_You don't know why_

_You can't turn around and say goodbye_

_All you know is when I'm with you_

_I make you free_

_And swim through your veins like a fish in the sea_

_I'm singin'_

_Follow me everything is alright_

_I'll be the one to tuck you in at night_

_And if you_

_Want to leave I can guarantee_

_You won't find nobody else like me_

_I'm singin'_

_Follow me everything is alright_

_I'll be the one to tuck you in at night_

_And if you_

_Want to leave I can guarantee_

_You won't find nobody else like me_

_I'm singin'_

_Follow me everything is alright_

_I'll be the one to tuck you in at night_

_And if you_

_Want to leave I can guarantee_

_You won't find nobody else like me_

* * *

When I finished, I saw that Lily was at the door and waiting for me. "You play well. When we start school, you should bring your guitar with you," she said and I smiled. "I might. Now let's go and meet Severus," I said and put down my guitar. I started playing at five as a way to entertain myself when I didn't have a book to read. Lily and I went up the hill where we always meet Severus and saw him also coming our way to under the tree. "Hey, Sev," Lily and I said at the safe time. "Hey Lily, 'Mione," he said. "Will you be spending tomorrow with us, Sev? You can if you want," I said and he thought about it. "Sure, I'll come tomorrow. What do you guys have planned?" he asked. "Well, after breakfast we'll go to the zoo, then eat out. Then, we'll come back here for cake and dinner," Lily said. Severus smiled and nodded. "If your parents ask mine then I should be allowed to go," he said and we nodded. Then we lied down on the ground under the tree and Severus started speaking about the wizarding world again. Iiked hanging around Severus, but I didn't like his beliefs on muggles and the views of the Slytherin house. I like his stories on magic's history and famous wizards, as well as the spells and potions he knows. That's what I listen to when we hang out.

After a few hours of talking with Severus, Lily and I said our goodbyes and walked home. "I can't wait for tomorrow. Maybe dad can also take us to the book store to buy more books. We are out of the ones we haven't already read," Lily said and I nodded. "I just want to sleep right now. Come on let's go," I said and we ran home. When we got there, Tuney was heading towards the table. "Hey, Tuney. How's your day been?" we asked at the same time and she sighed. "It's been alright, girls. Now, let's eat and then head off to bed. You two need your sleep for tomorrow," she said and we hugged her. After dinner, we quickly said our goodnights and then went to our room and changed into pajamas so we could sleep. "Night Lily," I said, "Night 'Mione," and with that, we went to sleep.

I woke up with a major headache at four in the morning. I tried to get out of my bed and go get the pain relief pills but I couldn't. I bit my lip to prevent myself from screaming as many images started showing up in my head. One after another, I noticed that they were memories. After about an hour, I remembered everything. Well, shit. Now to write everything before I forget something. I grabbed an empty journal from my drawer and spit the journal in three. People; Discoveries; Horcruxes. Looking at the journal I noticed that I knew a lot more than I had originally thought. I took a deep breath and to the side labeled 'People' and set to work. I wrote a list of everyone I knew in Hogwarts at the time, which - because many were either a few years older than me (in this time), a few years younger, or not born yet - was not all that long. The only people on it were my year Gryffindors, Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Black, Mulciber II, Wilkes, Avery, Evan Rosier, and Regulus Black. And the professors and the people of the Order, of course. From there I wrote down everything I knew about each person's past and personality. I paid particular attention to the future Death Eaters - I needed to remember everything so I could prevent them from making those mistakes. I also really wanted Severus' life to work out this time around, and for Regulus to have a life; neither of them deserved the lot they drew in life. Peter, well, he hadn't done anything wrong yet, but I did not pity him. I would have to be civil - nice, even - but that didn't mean I'd like it. In my mind, his crimes were the worst, and he wasn't even sorry; Severus and Regulus were.

Next, I worked on Discoveries. I divided this into three sections, 'Spells', 'Potions' and 'Other'. Here, I wrote down all the new spells and potions which had been developed in the future, many of which were my own and had never been officially written down before. In the 'Other' section I described advancements I had made in the understanding of magic (no one else was very interested in this at the time) and random magical inventions; there were four full pages dedicated to the Weasley twins. I especially marked the ones I had made/developed personally so that I could make sure not to negatively affect anyone's future; it's not nice to take credit for something that wasn't yours. On the last page, I wrote a short list labeled 'Marketable Now', where I listed spells and potions I could sell if I ever needed the money. As an afterthought I marked a few that I could tell a select group of people about (Marauders, hint hint); this included - but was not limited to - the wolfsbane potion. Horcruxes was fairly straightforward; I just wrote all I knew about the history of each of the four Horcruxes currently in existence: The diary, Hufflepuff's cup, Slytherin's locket, Marvolo's ring, and Ravenclaw's diadem. The sixth bit was still in Voldemort, and Harry and Nagini hadn't been made in Horcruxes yet. I also made note of the five possible hiding places.

I pulled out a different journal and put in everything that had to deal with everything else I learned. Like my 10 languages and my parseltongue. I also wrote everything on how to make my wand, a staff, training my body, wandless and wordless magic, and spells that are in the grey and dark arts area. I looked at the clock and saw that it was already six in the morning and I had to get out of bed at eight. I put away my journals in a place I knew no one would look, and went back to sleep while thinking up plans on how to achieve my goal without losing myself again.

After a couple of hours of sleeping, I felt myself being shaken by Lily. "Lils, leave me alone. It's Saturday," I said and tried to go back to sleep. "Wake up, 'Mione. It's our birthday! Come one and hurry up!" she squealed out. I sighed and groaned. "Alright, go downstairs. I'll be down once I'm done changing," I said and she nodded. Once the door closed, I got out of my bed and headed for the shower. After my shower, I went into my closet and got out a dark purple dress. It was off the shoulder and it ended at my knees. It had a flower pattern all around and it was smooth so it didn't bother me.

I put black stocking under it and my flats that were the same color as the dress. I brushed my hair and brushed part of it to my left side. Unlike Lily, who has wavy auburn hair, I have curly auburn hair. Both of us grew out our hair so it reached our lower back.

After I finished, I went downstairs and saw Lily already in the green dress I gave her. Mom and dad were already changed as well, and so was Tuney. "Morning mom, dad, Tuney," I said and they all turned to me. "Morning honey. Happy Birthday," mom said as she hugged me. "Thank you, mom," I said and hugged her back. I then hugged dad and then Tuney. Lastly, I hugged Lily. "Mom, can we go and get Severus, too. He said he can come with us if you and dad ask his parents," Lily said and I nodded. "Sure, honey. We'll go and get Severus after breakfast," she said and we smiled. I remember how my old professor was like but knowing him now, I knew that he is good. I just hope he takes it better this time around about Lily ending up with James.

After breakfast, we all got in the car and headed towards Severus' house. Tuney, Lily, and I were talking about the things we were doing today. We were going to buy a cake on our way back home since no one in our house knows how to bake. When we got to Severus' home, mom and dad got out of the car while we stayed in the back. Tuney moved closer to the window and I moved closer to her. Lily moved in too so Severus will have space to sit. When everyone was in the car, we went off to the zoo.


	3. Chapter 3

**Published on: 3/11/20**

**Words: 2,731**

**Hermione POV**

When we reached the zoo, we all got out of the car and headed for the entrance. Once in, we all started going to the birds first. We took many pictures together and also of the animals. Then we went to the jungle animals section and took more pictures. We spent the whole day walking around and we bought books from every section of the zoo. The last exhibit that we went to was the snakes. Severus looked around and took pictures of the different types. I went up to a glass view with a python in it.

_"Hello, there. How are you?"_ I said in parseltongue while no one was around me. The snake rose and answered. _"I'm alright. Who are you, if I may ask?"_ he answered. _"I'm Hermione Irina Evans. How long have you been here?"_ I asked him. _"My whole life,"_ he said and I smiled sadly. _"I'm sorry. I wish I could help, but I can't,"_ I said and he shook his head. _"It's alright. Your parents are calling you. You should go,"_ he said and I turned around and saw mom and dad motioning me over. I turned back to the snake _"Goodbye then. I hope you're alright here,"_ I said and went to my parents. After the zoo, we went to a restaurant to eat. Lily and I sat next to each other while Severus was on her left and Tuney on my right. Mom and dad were in front of us.

Lily had spaghetti while I had rice with guacamole and ribs. Tuney and mom got soup and dad got the same as me. Severus also got spaghetti. We ate quickly since we still had to get home to eat cake and open our presents. When we got to the store to buy the cake, Tuney, mom, and dad left us inside the car. "So, did you guys like your day?" Severus asked and we both smiled. "Yes, and you?" Lily asked. "Yea, I had fun today," we all smiled. "How about when we get home, we watch movies in the living room until it's time to open the presents and eat cake?" I asked them and they smiled. "That would be awesome. Damn, I forgot, we have homework to turn in on Monday," Lily said, reminding me that we were planning on doing our homework today after the zoo. "You guys can do it tomorrow. And I'll help you if I can," Severus said. "Thanks, Sev," we said at the same time.

**Third Person POV**

When they finally got home, they all went to the living room to watch movies until they decided to open the presents. The sun was starting to set when their parents started to bring out the presents from their room. All the presents were split into two groups. One side was Hermione's and the other was Lily's. Severus also brought out the presents he got for them and put the boxes on their expected side. "Alright, girls. Time to open your presents," their mother called and everyone went to couches as Hermione and Lily sat on the floor beside their presents. "You go first, Lily," Hermione said and Lily nodded. The present Lily chose was one from Petunia. It was a new book that Tuney caught her eyeing the last time they went to the book store. Next was Hermione. She also got a new book from Petunia. Next Lily chose one from her mom. When she opened the box, she found new clothes that she has been dying to buy. Hermione opened her new box and found an electric guitar. She looked at her parents questioningly "We talked to your guitar teacher and he said that you were ready to move from Acoustic to Electric. You like it?" her mother said and Hermione happily hugged her mother. "Thank you, mom," she said and gently put it aside. That is how the spent the next hour. Going back and forth opening their presents.

The presents went like this:

Lily:

Book (Petunia)

Clothes (Mom)

Books (Hermione)

Music CDs (Dad)

Wizard books (Severus) *her parents thought it was just for entertainment.

Hermione:

Book (Petunia)

Guitar _with its case_ (Mom)

Amp for guitar (Dad)

Music Books (Lily)

Wizard Books (Severus) *her parents thought it was just for entertainment

Later, they had cake. Their parents bought two cakes, one for each, since Lily liked vanilla and Hermione liked chocolate. After the cake, Hermione's parents took Severus home as Hermione, Lily, and Petunia got ready for bed. After showering, changing, and brushing their teeth, they all went to sleep and waited for tomorrow to see what it brings.

_~Time Skip~_

**Third Person POV**

As the months went by, Lily Evans got more and more excited about her Hogwarts letter to show. She knew it was going to come in August but that didn't stop her from being excited. Hermione spent her free time playing her new guitar, reading and planning what she was going to do to change things. She also made sure that she didn't forget the languages that took her five years to learn. And while no one was looking, she would start training her body and building up her magic. She had, at one point, started meditating so she could sense her magic. She did this to check if Harry's and Voldemort's magic was still a part of hers. Turns out it was and she has also been training so that their magic would work with hers and become one instead of being three. Eventually, August came by and there was a knock on the door while Hermione was in the living room, practicing on her guitar. "I'll get it!" she calls out as she puts down her guitar. She goes to the door and opens it. Right in front of her stood her old professor, Professor McGonagall.

**Hermione POV**

When I opened the door, I couldn't believe my own eyes. There, in front of me, stood my beloved Hogwarts teacher. Of course, it made sense. When I was eleven the first time, I was also visited by one of the Hogwarts professors. It took ages before my parents believed that their only daughter was an actual witch. Professor McGonagall looked much younger than I remembered, but she still had that look that said 'do not mess with me'. Her hair was in a bun, as usual, and everything about her was simply proper. "Hello, dear," the professor greeter me. "I am here to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Evans. Are they at home?" "Oh, Uhm, yes, yes they are," I finally managed to speak. "Mum! Dad! There is a woman here who wants to speak with you," I shouted in the general direction of the living room. When both of my parents showed up, they froze on the spot. After all, Mrs. McGonagall was wearing deep green robes instead of normal muggle attire (which, surprisingly, I failed to notice). "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Evans, I am Professor Minerva McGonagall and I am a representative of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I would like to talk about the future of your two daughters- Lily and Hermione. May I come in?" Mrs. McGonagall asked.

Both of my parents were too shocked to say anything, so Mrs. McGonagall just stepped in. When all of us were seated in the living room, the Professor continued. "As you've probably noticed already, your daughters are occasionally able to do some things that could not be explained by science," she started. Both mom and dad, still slightly confused, just nodded at that. It wasn't a secret. They knew about our abilities since we changed our clothes' colors at the age of two. "Great," said Mrs. McGonagall. "Then you probably won't be surprised when I tell you that all those things were done with the help of magic." "Magic?" mom asked, thinking that she probably misheard the professor. "Yes, magic," Mrs. McGonagall calmly replied, took out her wand and transfigured their table into a pig. When she got the reaction she wanted (which was total and complete amazement), she transfigured it back and continued, "Mr. and Mrs. Evans, your daughters are witches, and I, on the behalf of Hogwarts, would like to offer them a place at our school," She stated. "Believe me when I say that it would be in their best interest to attend. Outbursts of magic are dangerous; therefore, they need to learn how to control them and use their magic properly."

"But we already know how to control it," Lily seemed to recover the fastest (well, besides me, of course). She wasn't surprised that she was a witch. After all, Severus told that same thing to both of us a million times. "Excuse me?" The professor sounded confused. "What my sister is trying to say," I tried to help. "Is that we know how to do relatively simple magic intentionally. We realized that we can control it at the age of around four or five." I didn't really want to share this information, but Lily was about to do it anyway, so it didn't change anything anyway. "Really?" Mrs. McGonagall furrowed her brow. "That means you are going to grow up as very powerful witches. Yes, girls from a muggle family who can control something they don't understand? Impressive," the professor seemed to be lost in her thoughts for a second. "Well, in that case, Hogwarts is almost essential to the twins," Mrs. McGonagall redirected her attention to my parents, who seemed to finally understand what was happening. "They would learn how to develop their magic and use it wisely. I'm sure they would grow to be a great addition to the wizarding community."

"Wizarding community?" dad almost chocked. "But how? Where? Since when there is an actual wizarding community?" Professor seemed to be expecting this question. She told all of them about the wizarding world, money, clothes, Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic and their laws, and anything else that they've asked about. Most importantly, after everyone finally agreed that we should go to Hogwarts, she gave us our letters and told us about the Diagon Alley, including how to get there. "I recommend going there next week," the professor stated. "All of the students got the letters today, so there would be too many people around. However, if you wait for too long, the shops might run out of the required items, which would cause you to have to schedule another trip." "That sounds reasonable enough, Mrs. McGonagall. Thank you," mom said. "No problem, Mrs. Evans. Thank you for taking the news so well," Mrs. McGonagall rewarded mom with one of her rare smiles. "And I look forward to seeing you two in Hogwarts," she added to us before leaving.

What surprised me more than Mrs. McGonagall's sudden appearance, was Petunia's reaction to all of this. She did not say a word for the whole conversation. She just sat there, politely pretending to listen, not paying attention to anything that was being said. When the professor left, Petunia stood up and just went to her room without uttering a word. I had to do something about my sister's jealousy issues. I saw that my parents exchanged worried looks and sighed but still tried to appear happy since Lily was jumping on the couch (screaming something that sounded like 'We are going to Hogwarts. Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God', and trying to get me involved. "Okay girls, calm down!" mom laughed. "You will have plenty of time to cheer later." "I just cannot believe it," Lily relaxed and sat on the couch. "We are going to Hogwarts! And to the Diagon Alley! We will see all the wizarding stuff!" she added. "When are we going there?" her enthusiasm was contagious. "Well, I think we should listen to the professor and go next week. What do you girls think?" dad asked everyone, though it was mostly oriented towards mom. "I think that's a great idea, Gregory," mom replied. "Okay, girls, it's decided. We are going next week," she said and laughed when Lily started to clap enthusiastically. "Now, help me do the dishes and go get ready for school."

_~Time Skip~_

Today we were finally going to Diagon Alley. I miss going there. Back in my time, the death eaters attacked Diagon Alley very often and it turned into a battle zone. No one went back there after the first three attacks. Shops closed and moved to a different location. Now, I'll be going back there and seeing it in the glory that it used to be. I hope I don't break down.

The ride to London was a gloomy one. Besides Severus, who didn't have any clue as to what has happened (since we didn't have enough time to inform him) nobody was really participating in a conversation. _Unless answering with one-word sentences counted_. Mom and dad were occasionally exchanging worried looks, Lily was listening to Severus while he talked about all the shops in the Diagon Alley (although it was obvious that her mind was elsewhere), and I was looking through the window, pretending to be fascinated by the ever-changing scenery. And why were we in this awkward situation? Well, because of Petunia, of course. She refused to go with them. Well, not really refused _per se,_ more like invented an excuse (a school project she apparently had to finish before the school started) for not going. Lily seemed to be affected the most. In her opinion, seeing all the magical things would have helped Petunia get used to the changes and accept them. After all, Petunia was our older sister; she was _supposed _to be proud of them and offer her support. In return, we would share everything with her, help her, and maybe even teach her some tricks; which would make everything go back to the way it was before.

Yes, that was Lily's opinion of the situation. _Bless her innocence. _I, on the other hand, thought that my sister made a very wise choice. Petunia found out about this whole other world only a week ago. Sure, she knew that we were, for lack of a better word, special, and that Severus knew some tricks too; but a magical community? A community that was able to get almost everything they wanted by waving a stick? A community that she wasn't allowed to be a part of, while two of her younger sisters were accepted before they could learn how to read? For Petunia, it obviously didn't feel fair. And adding Diagon Alley's experiences to this equation would only mess things up even further. "Okay, everyone, we are here," dad disrupted my thoughts. "Now, the shop that Mrs. McGonagall was talking about is just around the corner so we will have to walk."

When we got there, mom didn't look convinced. "Are you sure this is the right one, Gregory?" mom asked once we've reached Leaky Cauldron (almost passing it, by the way. It really was not that noticeable). "It doesn't look, Uhm, inviting." "Of course it's the right one, mom," I waved her off. Her _previous _parents had the same reaction. "Don't you remember what the Professor said? It is supposed to look like this so non-magical people wouldn't want to go in," I said. "Well, mission accomplished. It looks absolutely ghastly," mom didn't sound convinced at all but followed me in, nonetheless. Once we entered, it became rather obvious that this was, in fact, the right place. Despite the fact, that it could not be considered to be a fine, clean establishment, there were plenty of people inside. Moreover, everyone was wearing robes, and many wizards actually had their wands out. _So much for secrecy. _Passing through the crowd proved to be harder than we anticipated, but after some time we managed to reach the bartender (who was a middle-aged, nice looking man, with short grey hair), and I spoke once again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Published on: 3/13/20**

**Words: 2,580**

**Hermione POV**

"Good afternoon sir. My name is Hermione Irina Evans," I tried to sound polite. "Professor McGonagall said that you would lead us through the barrier to Diagon Alley since our parents are both muggles." "Well, of course, I will, dear. No worries," the bartender offered me a genuine smile. "Let me just tell my wife so she can take over, and I will be with you shortly. Oh and you can call me Tom," he added before leaving. I was flabbergasted. Tom? The same Tom who ran the business in my past? Wasn't he supposed to be bald, dirty, and rather ugly? And didn't he just leave to talk to his wife? _Tom had a wife?_ Not in my past, he didn't. Did she leave him? Was that the reason for his change?

As much as I wanted, I refused to create more theories without having any sort of information, so I focused on my surroundings instead. I didn't see anyone from my _time, _as far as I could tell. I did, however, notice some people that looked rather similar (most likely parents and grandparents of my old classmates), but that was it. _Good start. _When Tom finally got back, he led them straight to the back yard and the infamous wall. "I'm going to take you to the main muggle-born integration office, which is located right next to the wizarding bank – Gringotts," he started. "They will tell you everything you need to know about the Diagon Alley and will give you a map with specific shops, as well as the price list. If you prefer, they could also supply a guide. The main point of the office is to ensure that everything goes smoothly and your money is spent wisely," Tom finished almost out of breath, and I was sure that he was forced to learn the text word by word.

"Thank you, Tom," mom smiled. "This is very considerate." After the wall was parted, Diagon Alley came into view. Even the _Petunia problem_ seemed to be put aside for the time being. Magic was seen everywhere. Witches and wizards, hundreds of them, just walking in every direction, making their bags float behind them. It was something surreal. I couldn't help but be fascinated as well; more so, than I was the first time around. Seeing everything as it should be, gave me hope. I remembered all the happy times spent in this place, in this world. This was my home. And I was not going to let anyone take it away from me again, especially not that snake-face psychopath.

After grabbing the map of Diagon Alley, we went to Gringotts The place looked extraordinary, as usual. Huge golden chandeliers, dim lighting; everything made the bank look more mysterious and frightening (not to mention the fact that it was run by the most vicious looking creatures of the magical world). When the initial shock of seeing goblins has passed, dad handled the situation surprisingly well. He talked politely and didn't have any problem understanding the information he was given. _Although he did have some trouble trying not to stare at the creatures too much. _After the money was exchanged and Severus took some from his vault, we decided to get the most important thing on the list first– our wands

At Ollivanders, I noticed that it wasn't as full as I thought it would be. Only one boy was here with a man that looked like his father. After three wands, the boy finally got his wand. "What a wonderful choice, young man. Twelve and a half inches, Dogwood, dragon heartstring, pliable. Perfect for transfiguration and complex spells. I trust it will serve you well. Also, a very fun wand to have if I might add," the owner chuckled. "I believe your uncle has also been chosen by a Dogwood wand, have you not, Mr. Black?" _Wait. Mr. Black? Did that mean..? _The boy turned to look at his uncle, and the answer was clear. There, in front of me, stood Sirius Black. A boy, who in my past grew up to be the most courageous man I have ever known. The man, who managed to survive almost anything that was thrown at him. _Almost. _Yet another fate I was here to change. "Why, yes, Mr. Ollivander," Sirius' uncle laughed. "A great wand that I still treasure to this day." "I am happy to hear that, sir," Mr. Ollivander bowed.

When Mr. Black paid for the wand and both he and Sirius turned to leave, I locked my eyes with the younger version of the man I once knew. His grey eyes and rather long, well-kept black hair (which was slightly wavy), made him look extraordinary and devilishly handsome. Also, his slightly tanned skin tone only emphasized his naturally masculine complexion. It was obvious, that when he grew up, he would get a lot of attention from the girls (I knew that for the fact already). Moreover, Sirius was dressed in expensive black robes, and the way he walked only accentuated his aristocratic background (however, it looked natural, and that was a huge plus). Interest must have been seen in my eyes because Sirius suddenly looked at her with a sheepish, rather smug grin and winked. _Wow, that boy started young. _I looked at him and returned a small smirk. I was brought out of my thought when I hear my dad's voice, "Okay, everyone, who is going first?" dad enquired. I almost forgot that we came here to get our wands. It was lucky that nobody noticed my little _encounter. _"Lily can go first," I exclaimed as I turned around as Lily ran to Mr. Ollivander. I heard the door open and close and I knew that both Blacks left.

After the measurements were taken and Lily tried more than five wands, she found her match in a Willow wand with Unicorn hair; which, according to Mr. Ollivander, was perfect for charms. The base of her wand was nicely carved with a nice scroll pattern. It suited her perfectly. I let Snape go next. After all, I wasn't as excited as my sister about the process, I went through it before. Severus found his wand without many problems (Ollivander knew what he was doing). Differently from the light shade wand that Lily got, Snape's was rather dark and weird markings on it. _Was that a bad sign? _"Well, my boy, a very interesting wand you got there. A very unusual combination indeed," Mr. Ollivander observed the wand. "Hawthorn with a phoenix feather, and reasonably pliant as well. It's going to be perfect for original incantations as well as healing magic and hexes. However, this wand will require a lot of concentration on your part. If you're not careful or indecisive, it might become a burden. Treat it carefully," the man warned Severus and gave him the wand.

After Snape paid for his wand, it was my turn. Unfortunately, I did not have as much luck as my companions. I must have tried more than half of the wands in the store before any progress could be seen. "Hmm. Let's try all of these," Mr. Ollivander put another dozen wands on the table. "I wonder," the man said more to himself and silently gave me Harry's old holly wand with a phoenix feather. _Is he serious? _To my relief and Ollivander's displeasure, it did not work at all. I was simply delighted. I did not want anything to do with that wand. Not only because it was Harry's, but also because it had a connection to Voldemort's wand. I did not want any surprises when I had to fight him in the end (if I survived until then, that is). _Priori Incantatem _wouldn't be that helpful.

"Well, I guess that's not it," the man said sadly, but quickly recovered. "What about a nice vine wood wand with a dragon heartstring?" Mr. Ollivander asked and gave me the wand I once had and cherished. When I tried the wand, it was my turn to show disappointment. The wand did perform a tiny bit of magic, but it wasn't anything similar to how it reacted in the past. "Interesting," Mr. Ollivander observed. "It seems as it could work, but it's definitely not the perfect match. And I don't settle for anything less than perfect," he chuckled. "It appears that your magic is reacting to the dragon heartstring, however. Let me just check my stock for a second." When Mr. Ollivander came back, he was carrying a beautiful wand. It was a dark brown color, and the vaguely lighter vine pattern craved in the middle was just magnificent. "Ok, Miss Evans, go ahead and try this one," he presented me with the wand. "Hazelwood with a dragon heartstring, 14 inches, unyielding flexibility. A true masterpiece, if I may add," Mr. Ollivander put in.

When I took it in my hand, I felt a rush of power travel through my body and into the wand. Consequently, the most bright and powerful sparks flew out of it. But I didn't care about any of that. I was finally complete. "Ah, it seems we found the one that was predestined for you. In all my years, I've only seen a few wands respond that way," said Mr. Ollivander excitedly. "And what a wonderful wand that is too. A true fighter's weapon. Perfect for duels and protective charms, as well as complex magic. I think it's clear that you, my dear, are not meant to live a boring life," he added. _Really? Who would've thought? _I thought sarcastically.

Next, we went to Flourish and Blotts to buy our books. Mom and dad went to put in the order of our books so the rest of us went to see what else we could buy. Severus went to the potions section and Lily went to the Charms section. I went to where I knew _Hogwarts: A History_ was. After picking it, I turned around to leave and look at more books. I had gotten about three books on everything and dropped them off with dad so I could continue to look. I had gotten the last three books I wanted, which were on potions when I ran into a person holding a few books. Due to him being older, I ended up falling as he just stumbled. I looked at the person and saw a boy with red hair about a year older than me. He looked at me and smiled. "Hello, little lady. I'm sorry for bumping into you," he said and I just shook my head as I got up with his help and grabbed my book from the floor. "It's fine, I should have been more careful," he smiled. "I'm Fabian Prewett, third year at Hogwarts, you?" he asked me while sticking out his hand. I shook his hand and said "Hermione Irina Evans. I'll be starting at Hogwarts this year with my sister and our friend Severus Snape," I said and continued to smile. "Fabian! Are you done yet?" I hear someone yell from behind me and we both looked at him.

In front of me stood a boy that looked exactly like Fabian. _So this must be Gideon. _I thought to myself. "Hey, Gideon. Come and meet Mia," Fabian said and I looked at him confused. "Mia?" I asked. "Your new nickname. Hermione is too long," he said and I spoke again. "You could call me 'Mione, like my sister does," I suggested and he shook his head. "No, Mia is fine," he said and I sighed and Gideon reached us. "Hello, I'm Gideon. Fabian's twin," I smiled and nodded my head. "I'm Hermione Irina Evans..." before I could say more, Severus showed up and looked at me, ignoring the guys in front of me. "'Mione, we have to go, your parents are waiting for you," he said and I nodded. "Well, I have to go. See you guys at school," I said and walked away. I gave my book to the storekeeper and dad paid for it.

After that, we went to the other stores to buy what we needed. Unlike Lily, dad bought me a trunk with an undetectable extension charm so I could bring all the books I wanted and the extra clothes. It also had a spell on it so it wouldn't weigh so much since I was most likely going to fill it up with a lot of books. After that, we went to the animal store. Mom and dad agreed to buy us an owl since it was the only way to communicate from Hogwarts. As Lily looked around for an owl, I looked at all the other animals. I was looking through all the different birds when I went a pull towards one of them. As if in a trance, I followed the pull until I was in front of a blue feathered phoenix. I smiled at it and opened the cage. I stuck out my arm and watched as she climbed on my arm.

**Carol POV (Hermione mom)**

Gregory and I have been calling Hermione for five minutes now trying to catch her attention. We saw her stick her arm out for the bird that she was looking at to climb on. "I've only seen that look on someone once in my life," the store owner said to us when he saw us trying to get Hermione's attention. "What do you mean?" Gregory asked. "She's found her familiar," he said and looked at him confused. "A familiar is an animal that helps a witch or wizard as they grow and also protects them. Only a few witches and wizards find their familiars but when they do, the bond is everlasting," Severus says as he saw our confused faces. "Also, a familiar listens to no one but their witch or wizard, so your other daughter there, won't be able to order the phoenix around unless she allows her to and he feels like it. Phoenixes are weird that way. Also, if forcibly separated, both the witch or wizard and the familiar will feel restless and anxious until they are together again," the store owner added to what Severus said.

"Gregory..." I started but he interrupted me. "How much for the owl and the phoenix?" he asked the store owner. The owner just shook his hand. "I'll charge you only for the owl. The phoenix is a gift from me. That phoenix has been here since my father ran the shop, I'm happy to see her finally finding her home. Two galleons fo the owl," he said and Gregory nodded. When we finished paying for everything that we were going to need for both birds, I tapped Hermione's shoulder and she turned to me surprised. "Yes, mom?" she asked me and I smiled. "The store owner has given you the phoenix as a gift so she's coming home with us. Time to go by the way," I said and smiled brightly. Hermione put her new phoenix in her cage and we all went to the car to go home.


	5. Chapter 5

**Published on: 3/15/20**

**Words: 3,701**

**Hermione POV**

I spent the next two weeks with my family since there wasn't much I could do while at home. I read two of the books that I bought at Diagon Alley and packed the rest. My luggage is already packed since there wasn't much that I would need besides all my book, my robes, a bag of money just in case, my cauldron, and the things for Nova (the phoenix). When I wasn't with my family, I was in the woods at the back of the house practicing my animagus forms. So far, I can only turn into a lion cub. My magic has to grow some more so I could turn into a phoenix. I have also been practicing my wandless magic, my physical body, and doing some small planning so I could think of when would be a good time to kill most of the death eaters.

I have also spent more time with Lily and Severus. I am planning on buying him a gift for Christmas and his birthday while I'm at school. I already have everyone else's presents planned out. Right now, I'm by the pond reading a book while Lily and Severus hang out. I didn't feel like spending time with them today and they were fine with it. Today is August 31 so tomorrow we will be going to the station. Tomorrow is also Wednesday so I don't know if Dumbledore will give us the rest of the week off or not.

As I continued to read, I heard Lily calling me. Only she knew I come here when I want peace and quiet. "Sis, you've got to see what Severus and I found! This is unbelievable," Lily exclaimed entering the clearing and handing me a piece of paper. _So much for peaceful silence. _"I'm sure it is, sis," I laughed taking it. Once I read it, my smile vanished. It was Dumbledore's letter to Petunia, explaining why she couldn't come to Hogwarts. I remembered Harry telling me the story before. About Lily confronting Petunia on the platform and fueling our sister's jealousy even more. This was not good. _Why cannot everything go right just once? _"Where did you get this from, Lily?" I asked silently. "Sev and I found it in her room," Lily answered amused, not noticing my disapproving look. "Can you believe she actually wrote a letter to the headmaster?" "Yes, yes I can," I said meeting my sister's eyes. "What I cannot believe is the fact that Severus convinced you to snoop around our sister's room and make fun of the fact that she wants to be like us." "I'm not making fun of her," Lily replied defensively. "And Severus did not convince me of anything. We found it by accident," she added angrily.

"Oh, so you just 'accidentally' went into Petunia's room?" I questioned. "What is your problem?!" Lily exclaimed not bothering to keep her tone down anymore. "We were bored, that's all. Just looking for a way to pass the time." "But this is private, Lily. And you know Petunia will go mental if she sees that the letter is not there anymore, not to mention if you tell her about it," I sighed. I didn't like fighting with Lily. "You should have talked to me before you went in there."

"Oh no, don't you dare get all _mummy_ with me, 'Mione!" Lily shouted angrily. "First of all, I was going to put it back, I just wanted to show the letter to _you_. And I was never going to confront Tuney, you should know better than that," she almost cried. "You may not want to, but Severus would definitely find it amusing and you seem to like his ideas," I said accusingly. "He is our friend and he would never do anything to hurt us or Petunia." "As if. He would never do anything to hurt _us, _Lily. Petunia is a safe game," I almost laughed. Was her sister talking about the same guy? "And you know what he thinks about muggles. Personally, I find his ideas rather outdated and quite alarming," I continued with a hint of my know-it-all voice. "I know you remember the branch incident, Lily."

"You sound just like Petunia," Lily basically hissed at me. "It was an accident. She was spying on us. Sev couldn't control it," she tried to explain, but it was obvious that she wasn't sure of herself. "Oh come on, Lils!" I threw my arms in the air. "We both know that's not true. Yes, his magic is powered by emotions rather than being deliberate, but he is smart enough to know how to control it. He _told _us that, Lily. Don't be so naïve." _When did this conversation become all about Severus? _"You don't know what you're talking about," Lily shook her head. "You're just jealous," she accused me.

"Jealous?" I took a step back. "What could I possibly be jealous of?" "You're jealous because I'm more friends with Sev and I don't spend enough time with you. That's why you're always hanging out with us. And that's why you accused him of all those things," she said pointing her finger at me. I rolled my eyes. _How childish. _Then again, they were only eleven years old. _Sort of. _"Did he tell you that?" I laughed sarcastically. "Are you blind? If being his friend makes you turn into what you are right now, then you can keep your friendship with him. I don't need friends that make me do stuff against my family," I said angrily and handed her back the letter. "You're doing it perfectly fine all by yourself. Maybe you should go and give Tuney some pointers!" Lily shouted, grabbed the letter from my hands and left the clearing.

I sat there shocked. _What the hell just happened?_ My rational side wanted to go to Lily and straighten things up. The whole argument was just so... unnecessary. _Well, at least the Severus part of it. _The eleven-year-old side of me, however, was pissed off and way too proud to go and apologize. My emotions got so conflicted, my head started spinning. "I'll just deal with it tomorrow," I said aloud and went back inside to go to bed, wand in my hand. Tomorrow was a big day.

_~The Next Day~_

When I woke up, I noticed Lily's bed already made. _She really doesn't want to talk to me. Fine. _I thought to myself as I moved from my bed. When I finished, I took a shower. After my shower, I went to my wardrobe. I picked a black dress that had clover patterns on it and a black belt that went with it.

I put on my black flats and then brushed my hair. I brushed part of my hair to the left and the rest down so my curls surrounded my face and I could hide behind them if I wanted.

When I finished getting ready, I grabbed my trunk and Nova and went downstairs. I left both in the living room as I went to the dining table for breakfast. As I sat down on the chair between Tuney and dad while Lily sat in front of me between mom and Tuney. We ignored each other throughout the whole time while Tuney just looked out the window ignoring everyone. Lily talked to mom and dad about everything she wanted to do and learn at Hogwarts. While we were packing the trunk with our things, I went into the forest for the last time before getting into the car. While looking around, I found a black snake wandering around looking for something. "_Hello, can I help you with something?_" I asked it and it turned to me. "_I am looking for you, mistress. Can I also go with you on your journey?_" he asked me and I thought about it. "_If you can wrap yourself around me to hide and behave at least until we are in a compartment at the train, then you can,_" I said and he hissed in delight. I stuck out my arm and he climbed. Then he went to my waist and wrapped himself there hiding from sight. As an extra measure, I cast a disillusionment charm on him with my wand and headed back to the car.

On our way to the station, Lily and I continued to ignore each other while Petunia sat in between us. I was re-reading Hogwarts: A History while listening to music on my CD player. Lily has one exactly like it we know which one is ours since we put our names on the back.

When we got to the station, Lily and I got our own carts. I put Nova, my trunk and my guitar case in my cart. As we reach the wall between platforms 9 and 10, mom looked uncertain again. "Girls," mom started. "I know Mrs. McGonagall said that we will be able to enter with you, but well, it's a wall." "Mom," Lily laughed. "Don't worry. All you need to do is hold our hands." It was interesting how Lily was completely calm in this situation. During my first time around, I was absolutely terrified and almost convinced that I would smash into the barrier. "Yes, Carol, don't worry. Everything will be alright," dad tried to put a brave face on, though I could see that he didn't like the idea of walking into a wall at all. "But," mom tried to argue with dad. "Even if we do get in, how will we get back, Gregory? The girls will be on the train. Are we going to ask strangers to hold our hands?"

"Mom, seriously. Were you listening to the Professor at all?" I rolled my eyes playfully. "The barrier is not protected against muggle interference from the inside. You will just walk right out. You know that." "Yes, yes I knew that. Of course," mom took a deep breath. "Okay, let's go then," she added with a determined expression and took my hand, before stepping forwards towards the barrier and closing her eyes.

When mom and I went through, we stepped away to make room for Lily, who crossed shortly after holding hands with dad and a reluctant looking Tuney. Once we were all in, I finally let myself look around. There, in front of me was the Hogwarts express. Exactly the way she remembered it; all shiny red and magnificent. To be honest, the platform was probably the only good memory that the Death Eaters didn't manage to ruin for me. Simply because those crazy bastards didn't find it to be a good enough target for them (which was odd considering how disastrous an attack on this place could possibly be).

It was good to be back here; where it all began. The train looked wonderful. In fact, the whole place looked amazing. Full of wizard families, all ignorant of the fact that their lives were most definitely going to change in a few years, because of a power-crazy bastard. Full of hope, excitement, and happiness. At this point in time, everything was great, easy. "Are you ready, girls?" dad interrupted my thoughts. "Yes, daddy," both Lily and I replied in unison. After which Lily shot me another glare. "Okay, now, we've talked about this," dad continued not noticing the distance between the twins. "Do not forget to write to us at least once a week, that's an order," he laughed. "Study hard, but don't forget to spend time with your friends and always be polite to everyone, especially your teachers. Are we clear?"

"Yes, daddy," we said together again and this time even dad noticed the heated looks, which, however, he chose to ignore for the moment. "Great!" He exclaimed, cutting the tension down a bit. "Now say your goodbyes and go meet your future classmates," he finished giving us a hug. When Lily moved from mom to Petunia, I tensed. _I hope she doesn't mention the letter. Oh please Lily, don't mention the letter. _I chanted those words like a mantra while hugging mom.

"Alright there, ladies?" dad joked after a long hug with my mom. "Of course, dad," I laughed. "I'll go say bye to Petunia. Love you!" I added before moving towards both of my sisters who seemed to be having a heated discussion. "Apparently wizards poke their noses in everywhere!" Petunia shouted loud enough for me to hear. _Shit. Lily mentioned the letter. "_Freak!" Tuney added and rushed off in the direction of their parents. Unfortunately for her, I was in the way. "What do you want?" Petunia said angrily. "I _wanted_ to say goodbye," I replied annoyed. "But after what I just heard, I want to tell you that what you just did was horrible and mean. You should be nicer to Lily and go apologize to her," "As if I'm going to listen to you," Petunia said mockingly. "And if she wanted me to be nice, maybe she should keep her nose out of my business."

"Look, Petunia," I sighed. "Yes, Lily shouldn't have read the letter, but-" "You knew about this?!" Petunia shrieked, interrupting me. "You were in on it, weren't you?" she said accusingly. "I can't believe this. That stupid boy and you need to leave me alone. I hate all of you, you freaks!" she shouted loud enough for a few people to turn around. "Listen here, _Tuney_," I said in a hushed tone, trying to tone down the conversation. "That little act of yours might work on Lily, but it's sure as hell not going to work on me. You need to get over yourself and all the stupid problems you have with us," I added angrily. "You might not have magic in you, but you're smart, pretty, and talented. You excel in a lot of things and you're forgetting about it because you cannot levitate a flower in mid-air. That's stupid." "How dare you-"

"I am not finished," I stopped her with a hand. "I understand that this situation might be difficult for you, but you need to adapt and find other ways to deal with your jealousy issues instead of tormenting your sisters. Otherwise, you will ruin what could be an amazing life and end up being a boring, nosy, and unlikeable housewife with over-spoiled children and a snob husband," Hermione sighed and looked her sister straight into the eyes. "I don't want that kind of life for you, Petunia. I know you're capable of more; much more. You need to let us in, Tuney. We love you and want you to be happy. Remember that," I finished and left without waiting for a response. I wanted to see if Lily was okay.

I looked around the platform and couldn't find her. I sighed and grabbed my trunk, Nova's cage, and my guitar case. I got on the train and found an empty compartment. I placed my trunk at the top and put my guitar on my seat. I placed the cage on the floor and took out food for Nova. I disillusioned the snake around me and placed him on the seat next to my guitar. "_So, what is your name? I'm sorry, I forgot to ask,_" I told the snake. "_My name is Mitsuki, mistress,_" he said and I nodded. "_Alright, nice to meet you Mitsuki,_" I said and looked at both my animals. "Alright, I'm going to find Lily, I'll be back. So no fighting," I said and left the compartment.

I finally found her in a compartment at the end of the train. I looked inside and saw James Potter and Sirius Black on the other side for her. I sighed and went into the compartment, ignoring the other two in there. "Lily, are you alright? I heard what Tuney said," I said while crouching in front of her. She turned her head away from me "I don't want to talk to you," she said and I moved my head so I could look at her face. "Lils, I want to help," I pressured on. She seemed to get angry and she pushed me. "I don't want to talk to you," she yelled as I landed on the ground.

My own anger flared and I get up angrily "Lily Jane Evans, how dare you push me! I'm trying to help you!" I yelled back at her. "Just leave me alone!" she yelled back and I tensed up before yelling at her again. I sighed and gritted my teeth "Fine," I said and walked out. I saw Severus and he must have seen my anger 'cause he stepped aside. I walked past him and went to my compartment. When I got in, I gently placed Mitsuki on the seat in front of me as I sat down and took out my guitar. The only thing that usually calmed me down now were books and playing the guitar. I started playing a song that I had just written.

* * *

_I, I hope she makes you smile_

_The way it made me smile_

_On the other end of a phone_

_In the middle of a highway driving alone_

_Oh baby I_

_I hope you hear a song_

_That makes you sing along and gets you thinking 'bout her_

_Then the last several miles turns into a blur, yeah_

_I hope you both feel the sparks by the end of the drive_

_I hope you know she's the one by the end of the night_

_I hope you never ever felt more free_

_Tell your friends that you're so happy_

_I hope she comes along and wrecks every one of your plans_

_I hope you spend your last dime to put a rock on her hand_

_I hope she's wilder than your wildest dreams_

_She's everything you're ever gonna need_

_And then I hope she cheats_

_Like you did on me_

_And then I hope she cheats_

_Like you did on me_

_Yeah babe, I hope she_

_Shows up in a 2 AM pic from her friend_

_Hanging on to a guy, and you just ain't him_

_I hope you stay up all night all alone waiting by the phone_

_And then she calls_

_And baby I_

_I hope you work it out_

_Forgive and just about forget_

_And take her on a first date again_

_And when you lean in for a kiss_

_I hope you both feel the sparks by the end of the drive_

_I hope you know she's the one by the end of the night_

_I hope you never ever felt more free_

_Tell your friends that you're so happy_

_I hope she comes along and wrecks every one of your plans_

_I hope you spend your last dime to put a rock on her hand_

_I hope she's wilder than your wildest dreams_

_She's everything you're ever gonna need_

_And then I hope she cheats_

_Like you did on me_

_And then I hope she cheats_

_Like you did on me_

_I hope it goes, comes all the way around_

_I hope she makes you feel the same way_

_About her that I feel about you right now_

_I hope you both feel the sparks by the end of the drive_

_I hope you know she's the one by the end of the night_

_I hope you never ever felt more free_

_Tell your friends that you're so happy_

_I hope she comes along and wrecks every one of your plans_

_I hope you spend your last dime to put a rock on her hand_

_I hope she's wilder than your wildest dreams_

_She's everything you're ever gonna need_

_And then I hope she cheats_

_Like you did on me_

_And then I hope she cheats_

_Like you did on me_

_Like you did on me_

* * *

After I finished playing, I noticed that I was still angry. I sighed and started thinking of other songs to play. When I finally thought of one, I started playing again.

* * *

_Hey homecoming queen_

_Why do you lie_

_When somebody's mean?_

_Where do you hide?_

_Do people assume_

_You're always alright?_

_Been so good at smiling_

_Most of your life_

_Look damn good in the dress_

_Zipping up the mess_

_Dancing with your best foot forward_

_Does it get hard_

_To have to play the part?_

_Nobody's feeling sorry for ya_

_But what if I told you the world wouldn't end_

_If you started showing what's under your skin_

_What if you let 'em all in on the lie?_

_Even the homecoming queen cries_

_Hey homecoming queen_

_How's things at home?_

_Still walking on eggshells_

_When that curtain's closed_

_Did your daddy teach you_

_How to act tough?_

_Or more like your momma?_

_Sweep it under the rug_

_Look damn good in the dress_

_Zipping up the mess_

_Dancing with your best foot forward_

_Did you want the crown_

_Or does it weigh you down_

_Nobody's feeling sorry for ya_

_What if I told you the world wouldn't end_

_If you started showing what's under your skin?_

_What if you let 'em all in on the lie?_

_Even the homecoming queen cries_

_Yeah, what if I told you the sky wouldn't fall?_

_If you lost your composure, said to hell with it all_

_Not everything pretty sparkles and shines_

_And even the homecoming queen cries_

_Oh yeah_

_Even the homecoming queen cries_

_Hey homecoming queen_

_Why do you lie?_

_When somebody's mean_

_Where do you hide?_


	6. Chapter 6

**Published on: 3/16/20**

**Words: 3,085**

**Hermione POV**

When I finished playing, I sighed and was about to put my guitar away when I heard someone speak. The voice came from the door, so I turned myself quickly to look at the person. "Wow," he said. James and Sirus were there, but Sirus was the one that spoke. "How long have you been there?" I asked them. "Since the first song, but we stood outside to listen. We came in in the middle of the second one," James said and I nodded. "I'm James Potter, by the way. And this is..." he started and Sirius continued. "Sirius Black," he said and winked at me. I blushed lightly and smiled. "Hermione Evans," I said and shook James' hand. I nodded towards Sirius and put away my guitar. Once I did that, I picked up Mitsuki and wrapped him around my waist.

"You want to be a Slytherin like your sister?" Sirius said after we watched me put the snake around me. "No, I'm going for Gryffindor. Don't let Mitsuki fool you. He's lovable. Just misjudged. I have a phoenix too," I said and nodded towards Nova on the floor. They looked at Nova and gasped. "Aren't phoenix supposed to be red?" James asked. "Yeah, but she's blue. And I like her like that. She's unique," I said and smiled. "_Can I play with them, mistress?_" I heard Mitsuki ask me eagerly. "_Sure, but don't scare them,_" I said and turned to them. "Parseltongue is something I picked up on a few years back. I use to ask snakes if they need anything. By the way, Mitsuki wants to play with you guys but I told him that he could as long as he didn't scare you guys," I said and they nodded wearily.

Mitsuki unwrapped himself from me and slithered to James. He climbed his leg and brought his face up to James' neck. "Don't worry, he won't bite you," I said as Mitsuki slowly went to James' neck and started licking him and causing James to laugh. "It tickles," he said and I smiled. looked at Sirius and he looked astounded. Mitsuki then moved to Sirius and did the same thing. After a while, Mitsuki slithered back to me and wrapped himself around me to sleep.

"So, that fight you had with your sister. What was that about?" James asked warily, not sure if he should bring it up. "She and Severus, our friend, did something yesterday that I didn't like. It wasn't because they did it to me, it was because they did it to Petunia, our older sister, and I knew that Lily would never do such a thing on her own without being convinced. That's just how she is. We fought about it yesterday, and we ignored each other all of today until I went to say goodbye to Tuney and I heard the argument Lily and Tuney had. She had called us freaks and Tuney walked away from Lily. I talked to Tuney about it and after that came on the train. I dropped my things off here and went to find her. You guys know everything from there," I said and they nodded.

"So what happened after I left?" I asked them. "Well, after you left. Snivellus came in and started talked with your sister. We got into an argument with them and decided to leave them alone. Then we heard you playing the guitar and decided to check it out," Sirius said and I nodded. I looked outside and noticed that we were close to the station. "We should start changing. I'll be back," I said and unwrapped Mitsuki from me. I grabbed my robes and left to go to the girls' restroom. I changed quickly and looked in the mirror. My skirt was at my hips and ended above my knee, and my shirt was buttoned except for the first one and it wasn't tucked in since it ends at my hips. I had stockings under my skirt while ended just above my knee and I still had my flats on. I folded up my dress and put the robe on leaving it open because it didn't bother me and my wand was in my pocket. I walked back to the compartment and saw that Sirius and James were done changing. I smiled at them and put my dress away. After that, I wrapped Mitsuki around my waist and covered him with my robe.

We talked about a lot of things while we waited to reach the station. I bought chocolate frogs when the trolley came by. Sirius and James bought stuff too but I didn't like the flavored beans. Still don't trust those things. We talked about the classes we might get and the friends we would make. When we made it to the station, we left of luggage and I begrudgingly left Nova. I didn't like it but I had too. Mitsuki was still wrapped around me so he was safe. When we got off the train, I heard Hagrid's voice calling the first years. James, Sirius, and I headed to the boats but we needed one more person. I saw a familiar light-brown-haired boy and I approached him. "Hey, we need one more person on our boat. Care to join us? I'm Hermione Evans, by the way," I said and he seemed surprised. Then he smiled, "Sure, I'd be glad to join you. I'm Remus Lupin," he said shyly and I smiled. I grabbed his hand and pulled him to the boat that James and Sirius chose. I got on with Remus' help and then he got on. "Hey, guys, this is Remus Luin. Remus, this is James and Sirius. We met on the train," I said and they all shook hands.

"So, Remus, what house do you think you will end up in?" James asked and I just shook my head. "I think I'll end up in Ravenclaw, you?" he asked. "Gryffindor. Hermione also wants to end up in Gryffindor," James responded. "I see you more in Gryffindor too, Remus," I said and he seemed surprised. "Either way, no matter what house you end up in, I'll still be your friend," I said and he smiled at me. "Thanks," he said and then turned to Sirius. "What about you?" he asked. "My whole family's been in Slytherin but I don't want to be there. Maybe the hat will put me in a different house," he said and Remus nodded. Then we all turned to see the castle in all its glory. I still got excited about seeing it. The last time I saw the castle it was near ruins. No students. No teachers. Just empty walls and some were even turned to rubble. Looking at it now, I can feel hope for this world. _I won't fail. Voldemort will die this time around. _I thought to myself as we reached the shore. James and Sirius got off and they helped me get off. Then we helped Remus. We were lead to the Entrance Hall where McGonagall was waiting for us.

She went in and we waited to be called. As I talked to the Marauders, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Lily and Severus standing behind me. The other turned to them as well. "Yes, Lily?" I asked her, not sure if we were going to fight or not. "Hey, 'Mione. I...I'm sorry for our fight yesterday and for pushing you away today when you were only trying to help," she sighed out quickly. I smiled at her and hugged her tightly. "I forgive you. But don't ever do it again. And I'm sorry too. I should have left you alone and waited for you to talk to me..." she cut me off. "You have nothing to be sorry about. It was my fault," she said and not wanting to argue with her about this, I just smiled and hugged her again. Then I turned to Severus and waited for him to apologize. He saw my face and sighed. "I'm sorry as well. I shouldn't have gone with Lily and looked through your older sister's stuff. I won't do it again," he said and looked down. He hated apologizing but he knew he did wrong so he had to.

I smiled and hugged him too. "I forgive you. Now stay and meet my new friends," I said and pulled them both next to me so the others can see them. "So for you guys to officially meet. Lily, Sev, this is James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin. Guys, this is my twin sister, Lily, and our best friend Severus Snape. Now, James, Sirius, if I find out you guys have been bothering Sev then you will be on the receiving end of my fury. And it won't end pretty. Sev, I don't have to worry about threatening you because you've already been on the receiving end of my fury and I know you don't want that again," I said and everyone noticed the slight fear in his eyes but he didn't let his body show it. He nodded and then McGonagall came back and lead us into the Great Hall. All of us looked around in awe. It looked even more beautiful than my first time.

We got to the front of the hall and Dumbledore warned us about the forbidden forest and everywhere else we weren't allowed to go. Then the Sorting Hat started singing like it does every year. After his song, McGonagall unrolled a parchment. "When I call your name you will come forth, I shall place the Sorting Hat on your head and you will be sorted into your houses," McGonagall said and we waited. "Pandora Adams," she called. I girl with dirty blond hair walked up. She looked like Luna. _This must be her mother. _I thought to myself.

The hate was placed on her head and it yelled: "Ravenclaw!" The Ravenclaw table clapped and I smiled. Next was Avery, he got into Slytherin. Surprise. After a couple of names, it was Sirius' turn. "Sirius Black." He went up and sat on the stool. "Gryffindor!" the hat yelled and I smiled. He smiled at us as he went to the Gryffindor table. A lot of names later, it was finally my turn. "Hermione Evans," McGonagall called and I went up. I sat on the stool and the hat was placed on my head.

"Hello, there little one. Now, let's see where you will fit. Let's see, I think we have a few choices for you here; oh good gracious, this is going to be difficult. You are a genius, that much is obvious, so Ravenclaw would suit you nicely in that regard. But you are also brave, brave beyond belief I see. And loyalty - goodness you have an overflowing amount of loyalty. However, I can see everything floating around in your mind. The things you have done, the killing, the running, the loss, the growing hatred, resentment. Your soul is almost as hard as a rock. This typically points to Slytherin... What _do_ I do with you...? Now, what's this, Dark Arts? My, my, you have been a busy one, walking on the fence a bit are we?"

"Hey!" I cut in. "How did you get to those? I have the hardest mind barries around! And I would like you to know before you start to judge me – even though that is your job – that all the stuff I did, I did not do it out of malice or hatred. I know that towards the end that seems rather hard to believe but it is true. If you look deep enough you will see the intentions were pure." "Interesting, I will consider that. And I got through those easily because I'm supposed to see everything. But don't worry, only I would have been able to get through those. No one else could have, maybe Dumbledore but he would have a tough time. Now, loyal, brave, tricky, smart, cunning, hard-working, independent, selfless...wow, you _really_ are a tricky one." There was silence and the hat seemed to be digging around in her head, looking for something.

"Ah-ha!" it announced. "Found it." "Found what?" I asked. "Your spark," it said smugly. "My what?" "Your spark, that which makes you tick. I see now, you are what you are mostly because of selflessness and loyalty, and you do it through determination and bravery. Damn it, you also use your smarts and cunning to do things properly. Your spark is annoying, it's not narrowing it down much; but still, it seems to be leaning more towards bravery and genius," it said. "Okay, why didn't you just find this spark thingy at the beginning?" The Sorting Hat snorted, "Because usually the students aren't this difficult, and it takes time," he said. "Well, now that you've found my 'spark' what exactly does it tell you?"

"It tells me that what you've done you did out of respect for others, out of dedication to others, to try and better the lives of others, because you care for them. This would put you in Hufflepuff, however, you also follow your instincts, you run on impulse, and that's Gryffindor. But you couldn't get any of it done without your extensive knowledge. Geez, why are you so difficult?" "Um, I thought you dug around in my brain, shouldn't you know?" I asked confused yet amused. "Okay, fine. Sit still, I will go through everything."

"You are a very odd hat. You know, it didn't take nearly this long the first time around." "The first time? Holy Godric's puffed-up sleeves! How on Merlin's bungled up Earth did I miss that?" he shrieked in my head. "For a hat, you sure do have a colorful vocabulary. Do you mind telling me what has you all in a twist?" "You used _Merlin's Box!" _"Yeah, you didn't figure that out the first time? For something that's supposed to read a person's mind you're not doing a very good job." I said still amused. "Hey, lay off the insults! I have a tough job here! Anyway, it seems that your magic decided to only allow me access to information that would help in your sorting, it somehow managed to hide _everything_ else. You are one amazing girl. Did you hide this on purpose?" "No, you just said that you go through my barriers,"

"Ahhhhhhh! Sentient Magic! Your magic is alive!" he yelled in my head. "Care to explain?" "Well, um...your magic is talking to me now." "It's talking to _you?_ It's my magic, it should be talking to me!" "Yeah...about that. She doesn't know how to talk to you, yet." "She? My magic is a girl?" "Apparently so. Hmm, this is very interesting," the hat went silent. I rolled my eyes and huffed. "Care to share?" "Oh, right. Well, she says that even though you could go into every house, you would be most powerful if I placed you in Gryffindor." "How could my magic possibly know that?"

"Well, she says she knows everything about you; past, present, future, and the other future. That's intriguing, I'd like to explore this with you, and your magic. We could have some great talks, us three. But for now, I think we have kept the professors and students waiting long enough - they seem to have forgotten about us." The hat lifted it's fringe just enough so I could peek out, sure enough, the headmaster, professors, and students had started having quiet conversations. She gave a mental snort and said, "We could just keep talking, they seem to be doing just fine without us."

"Sounds good to me. Now, about this Sentient Magic thing, I think I remember Rowena and Salazar researching something similar when they were building the castle." "Really? How can I find out about that? Do they have notes?" I asked excitedly. "I think they wrote some sort of book about it, not just about Hogwarts but also about how they thought magic might be sentient. I'm not sure if they ever found proof, or if they figured out how to talk to magic but they certainly tried."

"That's all well and good but where _is_ the book?" I asked. "Hmm, I'm not sure I'm allowed to tell you this." "Allowed to tell me what?" "Well, there's this room, it's called the Founder's Hall, it has everything in it. It's like the heart of the school." "Wow, I've never heard of it. Where is it?" "Well, the reason you've never heard of it is that it only reveals itself to the Founder's Heir, someone who is the heir to all the founders."

"Wouldn't that take like, forever, to happen? I mean, you'd have to find someone who had a parent from Slytherin and Gryffindor. In this day and age that is highly improbable." "I think you misunderstand, when I say heir, I don't mean by blood, I mean by spirit or soul. Someone who has all the qualities of all the founders; someone like you."

"Me? That's why you're telling me this, you think I'm the heir?" "You do remember how long it took me to sort you?" "We haven't actually done that yet you know." I reminded the hat as a side note. "Yeah, whatever. Anyway, I think you're the heir and I think you could get into the hall." "Okay, one problem: I don't know where it is." "The only entrance I can tell you about it the one in the Astronomy tower, there are other ways to get there but they are sealed from the inside so you will have to get in first." "So, Astronomy tower, what do I do?" "Just touch the wall next to the door and think about your need." "What need?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Published on: 3/17/20**

**Words: 2,934**

**Hermione POV**

"The need to get to the hall, obviously!" it exclaimed. "Hey, no insults. I'm doing my best here," I yelled back. "Yeah, I know. Hey, when you find it, let me know will ya? I can probably answer some of your questions." "Don't worry, I will. Now, about this sorting, we were supposed to be doing?" I asked still amused that we talked for so long. "Right, how about we give them a bit of a scare?" With that, the hat took a deep breath (or so it seemed) and yelled: "Gryffindor!" There were a few muffled yells from the professors and students and Horace even fell off his chair spilling his tea all over his lilac-colored vest. I giggled a little as McGonagall took off the hat. "That was the longest sorting ever. What took so long?" she asked me. I smiled and said, "I'm a tricky person," I said and went to the Gryffindor table. I sat in front of Sirius which also happened to be next to Fabian with Gideon on the other side. "That took twenty minutes. The hat sure had a hard time with you, Mia," Fabian said and I nodded. "Lily Evans," I heard McGonagall call. Instantly it yelled, "Gryffindor!" I smiled and clapped. She came and sat next to me.

The rest of the sorting went like this: Lydia Hollingbury-Hufflepuff (not important but I needed a name for Hufflepuff), Alice Hunter-Gryffindor, Frank Longbottom-Gryffindor, Xenophilius Lovegood-Ravenclaw, Remus Lupin-Gryffindor, Marlene McKinnon-Gryffindor, Mulciber-Slytherin, Peter Pettigrew-Gryffindor, James Potter-Gryffindor, Evan Rosier-Slytherin, Severus Snape-Slytherin, and Wilkes-Slytherin (this really did happen, I searched it up). After Dumbledore said more words of welcome, the food appeared and we all started eating.

"So, 'Mione, why did the hat take so long?" Lily asked me. "Apparently, I can easily fit into all the house. It had a hard time sorting me. We were so caught up in how fascinating it was that we had a conversation and completely forgot about the sorting. Sorry if it bothered you guys," I said and everyone who heard me looked shocked and surprised. We spent the rest of the time eating and getting to know our housemates. James was trying to be nice to Pettigrew but I knew he was slowly getting annoyed. I wonder how those guys became friends.

After the feast, which consisted of talking to housemates and discreetly feeding Mitsuki, we made our way to the common room. The prefect led us to the portrait of the Fat Lady and said, "Acid Pops," I knew it was Dumbledore that chose the password since he loved treats. We went inside and were told about the dorm rooms. After that, Lily and I went to our dorms to start unpacking. When we got to our room, we saw that our trunks on our beds so we started unpacking. I took Nova out of her cage and conjured up a stand for her to rest, much like the one Fawkes has, and change her cage a bit so Mitsuki can stay in it. I put him in but left the cage open and continued to unpack.

I put all the books that I would need for this year on the table next to my bed. Then I grabbed my guitar and was about to start playing when two girls came into the room. I recognized them as Marlene and Alice. They were out dorm mates. I started practicing the scales on my guitar as Lily introduced herself. "Hey, I'm Lily Evans, that's my sister, Hermione Evans. And you guys?" she asked them. "Hey, I'm Marlene McKinnon, you can call me Lena," Marlene said and then Lily smiled before turning to Alice. "I'm Alice Adams, you can call me Alley," she said and Lily nodded again. Lena and Alley turned to me as I continued to practice. "Don't mind her. She'll say 'Hi' when she's done practicing. Nothing but a storm will keep her from finishing her practice once she's started," Lily explained. After practicing the scales, I started playing in a slow tempo before singing.

* * *

_Dirás que es raro_  
_Lo que me pasó_  
_Parece que anoche_  
_Te encontré en mis sueños_

_Las palabras que dije_  
_Se volvieron canción_  
_Versos que tuyos son_  
_Y el recuerdo nos dio_

_Una melodía bella que el alma tocó_  
_Con el ritmo que vibra_  
_En nuestro interior_

_Amor verdadero nos une por siempre_  
_En el latido de mi corazón_  
_Amor verdadero nos une por siempre_  
_En el latido de mi corazón_

_¡Ay, mi familia!, ¡oiga mi gente!_  
_Canten a coro nuestra canción_  
_Amor verdadero nos une por siempre_  
_En el latido de mi corazón_

_¡Ay, mi familia!, ¡oiga mi gente!_  
_Canten a coro nuestra canción_  
_Amor verdadero nos une por siempre_  
_En el latido de mi corazón_

_Amor verdadero nos une por siempre_  
_En el latido de mi corazón_

* * *

After I finished, I put my guitar down and finally turned to my sister and the two girls. "Hello, I'm Hermione Evans, nice to meet you," I said sticking out my hand so they could shake it. They each did and smiled at me. "You have a nice voice, and you play really well. How long have you been playing?" Alley asked. "A few years now. It's one of the few things that calms me down and helps me think," I said. After that, I left to go to the common room while Lily made new friends. I still had trouble making friends with girls. It's easier to be friends with guys.

Once I got to the common room, I saw some older kids still there as well as the Marauders. I held tighter to my music book and went to the couch in one of the corners of the room. I curled up there and started thinking about new songs. I must have been there for hours since the next time I looked around, it was empty. I looked at my wristwatch and saw that it was only ten at night. I sighed and got up. I put my book on the nearest table and summoned a roll of parchment. I am going to make my map of this school since I am going to need it and I can't wait for three years until the Marauders make their own.

I started casting spells on the parchment and filling it with my memories of the castle. I also added my own things to it. I added listening charms around the castle so I could hear whatever conversation I want. I also added a spell for the map to recognize where the student's pets are. I also enchanted one of the corners so that when I press on it and think of who or what I'm looking for, it would automatically send me to the part of the map that holds what I'm looking for.

On the cover, it had a picture of the castle with a phoenix, lioness, and snake surrounding it. At the top, it said Misses Claws, Talons, and Scales is proud to present The Pride's Map. Then I put the phrase to open it; which was: The Pride is hunting. I added a spell so it would understand the phrase in whatever language I said it in. After I added the phrase to close it; which was: The Pride has Hunted. After I finished, I opened it again and saw it show me everything I had asked for. It even showed me all the secret passages that even the Marauders won't even know about.

I was planning on going to the Astronomy tower tonight but since we don't start classes until Monday, I'll just go tomorrow or over the weekend. I closed the map, folded it up, and grabbed my music book. I went back to my room to sleep.

_~The next day~_

I woke up and grabbed my clothes before going to shower. After I finished getting ready for the day, I grabbed a parchment and wrote a note for Lily for when she woke up. After that, I looked at Mitsuki. "Is there a way for you to attach yourself to me but not be seen by everyone? Like, can you become a tattoo on my body?" I asked him and he nodded. "I can do that, mistress. Where would you like me to attach myself?" he asked me. "Around my neck," I said and he nodded. He shrunk and I placed him around my neck. Then he went into my skin and made himself look like a tattoo on my neck. I grabbed my map and then I went to the common room and noticed that not many people were awake. I ignored them and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. Very few people were in the Great Hall so early in the morning. I sat down in the middle of the table and started putting the food that I was going to eat on my plate.

In the middle of eating, the Marauders finally came in. I sighed and shook my head as they came my way. "Hey, 'Mione. How was your sleep?" Remus asked me and I smiled at him. "I slept well, and you guys?" I asked and they nodded. "Same." We talked a bit about what we could do today. The introduced me to Peter since they share a dorm and I smiled at him trying to be friendly but still not liking him. After I finished and went to the Slytherin table since Severus was there. "Morning Sev," I said and he looked at me. "Morning, 'Mione. And Lily?" he asked me and I smirked at me. "She's should be coming down soon. Can you tell her that I'm exploring the castle today so she might not see me for a few hours?" I asked him and he nodded. "Sure," "Thanks," I said and left.

I headed to the Astronomy tower to look for the Founder's Hall. When I finally reached the tower, I went to the railing and looked at the grounds "I missed this place," I said to myself and then tore myself from there and went to the wall beside the door. Then I gently placed my hand on the cold stone. As I held my hand there, the stone melted into a door. It was made of dark cedarwood and looked as old as the castle itself; it had a faded, wrought iron design on it. I muttered a spell and with a wave of my hand, hundreds of years of dirt and moss were cleared away revealing a simple door. The design was that of the Hogwarts crest - it had been inlaid so long ago that it had seeped into the wood itself. I reached for the handle and had almost touched it when it swung open of its own accord.

I stepped through the doorway and found myself at the top of a very small spiral staircase that looked to have been squashed in right next to the normal one. Right before the door closed behind her with a resounding thud, a few torches lit themselves. The torches here seemed older than the ones in the rest of the castle; they were in simple yet elegant brackets, each of which had a different engraving on it. I walked down the stairs very slowly so as not to miss my footing but also so I could look at each torch. The first one had an engraving of a lion with an eagle riding on it's back, the second had a snake curled up next to a book with a badger. These went on and on, sometimes the engraving was of one of the houses' mascots and sometimes it was of two or three. It was great to see them all working together doing various school tasks or learning different things. Suddenly, the stairs turned into a small corridor. This surprised me because by my estimation I was only about three-quarters of the way down the tower, none-the-less I followed it. It would go straight for a while then it would start twisting and turning only to become a staircase again, sometimes going up and sometimes going down. I followed this strange pathway for about 20 minutes before it finally came to a stop in front of another ancient-looking door.

As I approached the door it swung open and I stepped into the most spectacular room I had ever seen; it was almost as big as the Great Hall. The ceiling was the same as the one in the Great Hall, it looked exactly like the sky I had been observing earlier, there were even the tiny puffs of cloud hovering over. And the floor, the floor was a tight weave of carpet, a deep midnight blue, almost black in color and covered with a pattern of clouds and stars. It seemed to be a toned-down, fabric reflection of the night sky. Scattered around the room were small sitting areas, study tables, and couches. Three of the four walls were lined with bookcases that were two stories tall and many rows deep, creating long corridors that seemed to stretch for miles; there must have been hundreds of thousands of books. One side of the room had dozens of small shelves and cases filled with Merlin only knows what, another with long workbenches, there even seemed to be a dueling platform. Directly across from where she had entered there was a massive fireplace and placed in the corner to it's right was a huge ornate desk, beautiful but serviceable. Despite the fact that everything was covered in layers upon layers of dust, it was a magical scholar's dream come true.

A small stand with a massive, closed book on it was placed just beyond the door. I walked slowly forward, still in awe of the room. On top of the book, there was an ancient piece of folded parchment. On the front, it simply said 'Welcome'. Brushing the dust off, I turned it over and found that it had never been opened, it was still firmly shut with the seal of Hogwarts stamped on the back in wax. Carefully, I unfolded it and read it.

_Welcome, heir of Hogwarts, to the Founder's Hall, the heart of this school._

_This hall was created as the center of learning, it is here for all those with an open mind and a will to learn. Over the years, hundreds of students and graduates have used this hall as a place for quiet study, for academic entertainment, and of course, as a place to further their knowledge. However, what is found here is not for the weak of mind, for as with power, knowledge can easily corrupt. Without proper supervision, we are worried that what is held within these walls will be used in a manner not befitting a true Hogwarts student. Originally we intended to have an official guardian for this hall as we each have our own duties to attend to, and in the years we have taught here we have searched for one deserving of that power but it has been a fruitless hunt. Therefore, this hall has been sealed to keep its secrets safe, we made this decision many years ago and do so now, as our days come to an end. It will only be found and opened again when an Heir of Hogwarts is deemed worthy of the responsibility._

_A true Heir of Hogwarts embodies the traits valued by all four founders of this school. From Hufflepuff, you must bring loyalty, hard work, and determination. From Ravenclaw, you must bring wisdom, creativity, and individuality. From Gryffindor, you must bring bravery, courage, and selflessness. And from Slytherin, you must bring cunning, ambition and raw power._

_If you are reading this then you are the Heir of Hogwarts and have now become the Hall's new guardian. You are responsible for this hall and those who use it until another comes along or until you tire, at which point you must once again hide it from the world. Only those who know where the Hall is will be able to get to it, please remember this and please use what you find wisely._

_Rowena Ravenclaw_

Helga Hufflepuff

**Godric Gryffindor**

_**Salazar Slytherin**_

P.S. To clarify some things that Rowena may have worded a bit too eloquently, you are the embodiment of all that Hogwarts is meant to be, we are trusting you with secrets known only to us, and 'until you tire' basically means you can live for as long as you are willing to protect this hall. ~ H.H.

**P.P.S They also forgot to tell you that you now have access to all our primary vaults, just go to Gringotts and show them all our signet rings, they will take you to vaults one through four. Also, the Hogwarts ring will let you in vault 9, the Hogwarts vault. You can't have the gold because that's for the school but there might be some interesting stuff in there, we don't know. ~ G.G.**

_**P.P.P.S I feel it is my duty to warn you, if you abuse this privilege the consequences would be ... unpleasant. ~ S.S.**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Published on: 3/18/20**

**Words: 2,609**

**Hermione POV**

I had never heard of Founder's Hall before, not even in legends and yet here it is, right in front of me. And I couldn't believe that I'm the Heir of Hogwarts and that I could live forever if I wanted to, protecting this Hall and everything in it. I also have access to their Gringotts vaults once I've gotten their ring singlets. _Many things that history hasn't mentioned could be in there. _I thought to myself. I went to the desk and I was about to open one of the drawers when the ghost of an elf showed up in front of me. The funny thing about it was that it wasn't wearing the Hogwarts uniform of a simple tea towel with the crest but rather a deep blue tunic with bronze trim and black leggings. However, the entire uniform looked to be made out of a table cloth or maybe high-quality sheets; it was clothing but not clothing, quite inventive really.

"Well, I's be thanking Merlin yous here. I's being dead for a very long time. And being dead is not as fun as Miss might be thinking," he said and I looked at him confused. "Oh. Well, um. Who are you?" I asked. The elf puffed out his chest, "I is Keeper, Keeper of the Secrets. I used to be Mistress Rowena's elf but before she was dying, she and the other kind Masters is making me Keeper," he replied. "I see, and what secrets might you be keeping?" I asked him. "The Founder's Hall, of course. Miss is not being very smart if she is not knowing that," Keeper said as haughtily as a house-elf could.

"Hey!" I said indignantly, insults to my intelligence were some of the few things in life which actually annoyed me, plenty of things pissed me off or infuriated me but she didn't find many things annoying. "I was just wondering what sort of secrets those might be, that's all," I clarified. "Ah, I is happy you is asking that," Keeper said cheerfully, "As soon as I is passing on my secrets I is finally being able to leave this hall and be moving to the other side. I is wanting to do that since I is dying," he said. "Oh, well maybe we can get this done quickly then," I said with a smile. "I would be liking that very much Miss."

"So, where would you like to start?" I asked. I was very interested in finding out as much about this hall as I could, the sooner the better. "First, this room is needing cleaning." With that, Keeper just popped away, apparently even when dead, elves could do their form of apparation. About twenty seconds later a group of nine house-elves popped into the hall, four males and five females. At first, they were wearing the traditional Hogwarts tea towels but as soon as they appeared, eight of their outfits changed to match the ghost's, just in different colors; navy blue and bronze, maroon and gold, yellow and black and emerald and silver; each of the tunics had a very faint embroidered pattern of a raven, lion, badger, and snake on them. One female and one male in each set of colors. Under all their tunics they wore the black leggings. Despite the color differences, they all seemed to fit together. The fifth female elf, however, was a bit older and had a white tunic with black embroidery. The elves all turned their eyes down at their outfits and looked up at Keeper in fright, the ghost, sensing that they were worried about their new uniform put them at ease.

"Elves, elves, no panicking. You is not being freed, you is just wearing fitted table cloths made by other elves, they is not clothes. You is now working in the great and wonderful Founder's Hall so you is needing to look smart. This is what the Founders is wanting you be wearing." Now that the elves were sure that nothing was wrong they set about inspecting their new uniforms, they were all very happy about it. The female elf in white looked up at Keeper and asked, "Why is I be wearing white?" Keeper floated over to the elf and said, "You is being given great honor by Hogwarts herself. She is choosing the best elf to be head elf. You is in charge of the Hall, you is now called Chief!"

The elf's eyes went impossibly large. "But Keeper, a Chief is always being male! I is girl, I is not being able to be chief." Keeper floated down so he could look straight into her eyes, "Hogwarts has chosen, you is not able to change her mind." The elf wrung her hands together. "Okay, I is being chief, but I is hoping for a different name. Chief is not being a girl elf name." Keeper smiled and turned to me since I had just been standing there in shock at the nine elves. "We is asking Miss here to choose yous a new name."

I blinked. "You want _me _to pick a name? I still don't even like the idea of house-elf enslavement in the first place!" All the elves looked at me in horror. Keeper flew up so he was right in front of my face. "You is being wrong to think that. We is liking our work, we is wanting no more than serving nice masters and mistresses. You is bad heir to be thinking of us like slaves." He shook a finger in her face. "You is needing to change yous mind!"

"Oh," I said, I had never seen an elf speak so vehemently about their position in life before. All the elves I had met seemed to say things like that because they were expected to, not because they wanted to. Maybe it was time to re-think my position on house-elves. "I guess I could try." "Well you is better be trying now because Chief is needing new name," Keeper said, still rather angry. "Okay," I desperately tried to think of a name that would be accepted by them. "How about 'Doe'?" "What is 'Doe' meaning?" The elf who _wasn't_ Chief asked. "It is for your eyes," I answered. "All the elves that I see always have doe-like eyes. Full of innocence and happiness. I thought you might like it," I said remembering Dobby's eys. "Oh," the elf said hesitantly, "I is liking 'Doe'," she said and I smiled.

"Okay," Keeper said cheerfully, "Now that that is being decided we is needing to be cleaning. Doe, you is in charge, you is deciding what happens when. You is starting now," with that, the elves hurried away and Doe started handing out instructions. Keeper turned to me "I is hoping you is treating elvises nice and not doing everything by yous self." "Okay, I'll try. It will probably be easier with Doe around to keep things going and stop me from doing anything." "Yes, you is right. Now, we is needing to do explaining of Hall." The elf changed into what could most accurately be described as 'teacher' mode.

"Right, yes, explaining," Keeper floated quickly over to the desk in the corner of the room, "This is the Heir's desk, only you is being able to use it, it be very safe." The desk was beautiful, it was made of deep mahogany wood, it was fancy without being gaudy and spacious without being imposing. It was a wraparound table so there was even more room to spread out papers and books when doing research, there were plenty of drawers and bookcases all along the walls behind it. The chair was just screaming, 'Sit in me for hours!' But what caught (and held) my attention was the four bulky envelopes sitting on the desk each addressed to 'My Heir'. When I opened the first one, I found inside a short letter and an ornate ring with a ruby in the middle surrounded by small red diamonds. on the inside it said _Chivalry and Nerve_, it was Godric Gryffindor's ring. I was about to start reading the letter when Keeper interrupted impatiently.

"Miss, you can be reading the letters later, just put the rings on and we is being able to continue." I was disappointed that I couldn't read what the founders had written but understood that Keeper really wants to move on from this life – or lack thereof. So, I just opened each of the letters and placed the rings on the desk in front of me. "Um, Keeper?" She asked, "Do I really have to wear all of these?" Keeper glared at me. "Of course you is having to wear them, you is the _heir_. But if you is not liking to have many, yous is able to make them look different. Yous is also being able to make them into one."

I smiled and placed the Gryffindor and Slytherin rings on my right middle finger, I focused on them and asked it to become one. Much to my surprise, it turned into a thin gold band with a thin red line running down the middle; in the ends, there were each of the colored diamonds. On the inside, the words _Chivalry, Nerve, Clever, and Ambitious _were carved on the inside. I was satisfied, this was much nicer, and didn't draw attention to itself, no one would guess that this small piece of rather feminine jewelry was the official signet ring of Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin.

Then I placed Ravenclaw's and Hufflepuff's rings on my left middle finger and did the same things as before. They turned into a slightly thicker silver ring band with the tear-drop shaped diamonds on both ends in the colors of blue and yellow. On the inside, the words _Wit, Creativity, Just, and Loyal _were engraved.

"There, you is seeing how nice they is now," Keeper said proudly, "They is looking nice on Miss' hands. But enough of that, we is having more to see." "Right, yes." I said, still in a bit of a daze from the whole ring thing. "What's next?" "The index is being next," Keeper said as he floated back to the book stand on which she had found the letter a few minutes ago. "This is the index book, it be telling you what books is here, in the library or in Masters and Mistresses own libraries." My eyes widened. "The Founder's have personal libraries?" I asked breathlessly. "As in, with their _own _books?" Keeper looked a bit surprised at her reaction. "Yes, of course they is. They is in their rooms Miss."

It was only my strong disposition that kept me from fainting then and there, _I could go to the Founders' rooms! _"Miss, could we be keeping going, please?" Keeper asked with a roll of his eyes. I shook my head and blinked about a hundred times to bring me back to the present. "Yes, of course." "Good. Like I is saying, this is being the index book. All yous need to do is touch it with yous wand, or yous hand if yous is being able to doing magic with no wand and think or say what yous be looking for." Before I had a chance to ask questions or get too excited Keeper moved on. "Now, there is a few ways to be getting in the hall, there is the 'fun' one from the astronomy tower – that was Salazar's idea, I is having no idea why but he is insisting that be the way you come in the first time, completely deranged that one." I frowned, I had never heard Slytherin called deranged before; evil, bigoted, maniacal even insane, but never deranged. However, I didn't get time to voice my thoughts because Keeper had already moved on.

"Another way is being the spiral tapestry," He floated over to where, if we were in the Great Hall, the Headmaster's chair would be at the head table. On the wall was a beautiful tapestry of a spiral staircase as looked at from above. Keeper pushed the tapestry to the side and revealed the top of a tiny spiral staircase, funny that. "This is leading to the Great Hall, it is being behind the Headmaster's chair. A one-way window makes you able to see the peoples but they not see yous."

_Well, that could be interesting. _I thought, _spying on the professors during meals...very informative. _"Lastly, the bestest way to be getting to the hall is through the Founder's Door, it also be taking you everywhere yous be needing to go. It is right next to the astronomy door." I looked over to where Keeper was pointing and noticed the door for the first time, I was about to ask him what he meant by 'everywhere yous be needing to go' when he gave a high pitched laugh and said, "I can go!" And he vanished into thin air.

I sighed. _Oh well, I guess it's better than no information. _Then I walked over to the door to figure out exactly what he meant. However, as soon as I reached the door I noticed that there was no handle. There was just a door, it was simple yet elegant, covered with intertwining engravings, upon closer inspection I found that there was a pattern. There were distinctive symbols when were connected by a vine design. The symbols were very specific and didn't seem to have any single theme, in fact, the person who made the door seemed to have a good sense of humor as some of the carvings were quite amusing.

I looked at all the engravings and felt my hand-drawn to one, it was of a roaring lion, and as if by instinct I gently pressed my hand to it. As my skin made contact with the wood, the lion grew until it filled the entire door, then a handle appeared and glowed gold. I carefully opened the door and nearly had a heart attack; I had just opened a door to the Gryffindor common room! It was as if I was standing right next to the wall, I felt like I was in the room. It took me a few moments to realize that the students in the common room weren't paying any attention to the gaping doorway thing which had just appeared in the wall, I figured that it must be invisible, or at least unnoticeable. Waiting until the students left to go somewhere else, I stepped through the door and closed it behind me. I turned around and saw that where I had just walked through there was nothing more than a beautiful tapestry. When I stepped closer to the tapestry it turned back into a door. _Interesting. It must have some sort of notice-me-not charm on it or the area around it._ To test my theory I tossed a pillow from the nearest chair towards the tapestry, less than half a meter before it would have hit the wall, it disappeared. _Well, at least I won't have to explain why there is a new door in the common room. And if I stand close enough people won't be able to see me either! Oh, the possibilities..._


	9. Chapter 9

**Published on: 3/19/20**

**Words: 3,413**

**This will be the last chapter I post this week. I am working on the next one but since I still have to keep up with my schoolwork since it is given to me online I wil not be able to post often. My next post will be next Friday. Love you guys for reading and liking this story. Til next time**

* * *

**Hermione POV**

After I went back to the Hall, I conjured a notepad and wrote: _Founder's Door _and under it I wrote: _Lion: Gryffindor common room_. That is how I spent the next two hours. Touching the engraving on the door and writing down where it would take me. By the end of the two hours, my list looked like this:

_Founder's Door:  
__Lion: Gryffindor common room  
Snake: Slytherin common room  
Raven: Ravenclaw common room  
Badger: Hufflepuff common room  
Pile of random stuff: Dumbledore's Office  
Eclectic furniture: Teacher's Lounge  
Haphazard pile of books: Library  
Grand staircase: Entrance Hall  
Toppling pile of food: Kitchens  
Pots and plants: Greenhouse (#3)  
Weird question mark: Room of Requirement (across the hall)  
Snitch, bludger, and quaffle: Quidditch pitch (under the stands)  
Telescope: Astronomy tower (2nd_ _entrance)  
Trophy: Trophy room (across the hall)  
Fat man on keg: Cellar _;)  
_Gargoyles clasping hands: Dumbledore's office entrance  
Shackles: Real dungeons  
Tree: Forbidden Forest  
Lake: Underwater study room  
Roman numerals: Corridors (by floor)_

After that, I went to lunch since it was 12 in the afternoon. When I got there, the Marauders were already there but Lily wasn't. I sighed and went to sit beside Remus. Remus sat beside Peter while Sirius and James sat across from them. "Hey, guys, what have you been up to?" I asked them and they smiled at me. "We explored a bit of the castle, you?" Sirius asked. "Same, I know where all our classes are and I even got to see the Quidditch pitch," I said to them and James and Sirius started whining. "We haven't even gotten to that yet," the said and I smiled. "Well then, finish eating quickly and get to it," I said and they started shoving food in their mouths. It disgusted me how much food they shoved in their mouths but at least they ate with their mouths closed, unlike Ron.

I sighed as I thought about my old friends. I missed them so much but I know that everything that I'm doing now is for them to have a better life. For them to grow up in a different world than the last one. After lunch, Lily and I went to Severus and started talking about our day. Lily had found the library and spent the whole day reading. Severus had spent some time with his housemates and then joined Lily in the library for the rest of the time. I told them that I went around the school and finding where all our classes were going to be, as well as seeing the Quidditch pitch.

When I mentioned the pitch, Severus had to explain to Lily was Quidditch was and she the game but she was spectacle about learning to fly on a broom. Severus and I reassured her about it since the teacher wasn't going to expect us to fly 50ft into the air on the first day. After a few minutes of talking, I got up to leave "Where are you going?" Lily asked. "I'm going to continue looking around. Don't worry, I won't get lost," I said and left. I went back to the astronomy tower and decided to make the 'fun' entrance, a bit more fun before I went back to the Founder's Door and looked for the entrance to the Founder's rooms.

When I got to the entrance, I closed the door behind me and then looked at the stairs again. I started thinking of ways to get to the Hall without having to walk all these damn stairs and then that tunnel that could go on for ages. I then remembered that muggles had roller coasters and they were really fun. I turned to the wall and made a lever appear there with two features, one where the stairs were going to appear and the other where it would be like a roller coaster ride. For the coaster ride, I make tracks appear where the stairs would be and even made them go through the tunnel. For the cart, I made the bottom squared to it would go along the tracks but I made the cart itself look like a teacup that would spin around when the wheel in the middle was spun around. It would spin either clockwise or counterclockwise. When it was done, I decided to try it out. I also added for it to slow down when reaching the end so it won't stop out of anywhere and someone ended up hurt. When I got off the cart, I went to the portrait that was there and saw four animals in it. "Miss, you have to think of a password so if you bring someone with you, they won't be allowed it without the password," the lion said while the raven, snake, and badger just played together in the background. "Oh, ok. Can it be a song that I wrote?" I asked the lion and he nodded. I conjured my guitar and started playing.

* * *

_Hey, mamma, how do you get a red wine stain out of your favorite dress?  
Black mascara off a pillowcase  
Cure a one-too-many headache  
Mamma, can I come and maybe stay a few days?  
This weekend or next  
And hey, how do you get a red wine stain out of your favorite dress?_

_How does he sleep at night?  
Mamma, the nerve of this guy  
To leave me so easy  
Am I gonna be alright?  
I wanna kick myself for falling so hard  
Mamma, can you die from a broken heart?_

_Can you ask daddy if he's got time to come and look at my front door?  
It got slammed last night  
And now it don't close right  
And just promise that you won't tell him everything and keep that pistol in the drawer  
Mamma, please don't sayI'm gonna laugh about this someday  
You didn't see the way he drove away_

_How does he sleep at night?  
Mamma, the nerve of this guy  
To leave me so easy  
Am I gonna be alright?  
I wanna kick myself for falling so hard  
Mamma, can you die from a broken heart?_

_Oh, broken heart_

_Can your knees give out from praying so hard?  
Can you go blind from crying in the dark?  
Was it ever really real  
If he don't feel like I feel?_

_How does he sleep at night?  
Mamma, the nerve of this guy  
To leave me so easy  
Am I gonna be alright?_

_How does he sleep at night?  
Mamma, the nerve of this guy  
To leave me so easy  
Am I gonna be alright?  
I wanna kick myself for falling so hard  
Mamma, can you die from a broken heart?_

_A broken heart_

* * *

After I finished, I looked at the portrait. All four animals were looking at me in awe. I smiled and said, "If I bring anyone here, then the password would one of the phrases in that song, whichever one of their choosing, and they can change the gender of the song, is that alright?" The raven spoke this time, "That is alright, child. And you play well, keep doing it," she said and I smiled before going inside the hall. I went to the desk and looked around the papers that were there. I sifted through the papers until I found two receipts and two small pieces of parchment. The receipts were both in Old English which Hermione translated but the other parchments looked much newer and didn't need to be translated...odd.

_Yonwin's Rare Books and Manuscripts ~ Finding the unfindable since 107AD  
Standing order: Any new item  
Cost: 50,000G (one-time fee, nonrefundable)  
Send to: Hogwarts, Founders' Library  
Paid in full 18th of April, 982_

Right underneath the receipt, there was a small piece of parchment that read;

_Hogwarts' Librarian,  
I regret to inform you that upon my death there will no longer be anyone to run my shop, I will continue to send a copy of whatever new things I may find between now and then. You can also buy books Brightmore's Books and Writing Supplies here in Hogsmeade or at the newly opened Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley.  
Thank you,  
Osric Yonwin III, June 18th, 1463_

Then there was the second receipt;

_Brightmore's Books and Writing Supplies ~ Catering to scholars since 504BC  
(1) Complete Easy-Update Library subscription  
Name: Anonymous  
Bill to: Gringotts vault #9  
Start date: 1st January 1182  
End date: N/A  
Price limit: N/A  
Book limit: N/A  
Restrictions: Omit anything in the Hogwarts General Library  
Delivery: "Anonymous" transfer crate  
Cost: N/A_

And then a second note;

_To Whom It May Concern,  
Brightmore's Books and Writing Supplies will be closing on December 31st, 1740.  
Please note that your Complete Easy-Update Library subscription will end on that date. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you and thank you for your patronage.  
We very grudgingly recommend Flourish and Blotts for any similar services you may require.  
Sincerely,  
Alrick Brightmore VIII_

"So, the Founders had set it up so that the bookshops would automatically send books to the library; that explained the presence of newer books. However, because both bookshops had gone out of business, it had stopped updating in 1640 when Flourish and Blotts closed out Brightmore's," I said to myself. _Hmm, I'll have to see if I can get something like that started again. Maybe have Flourish and Blotts send a copy of every book that's not already in Hogwarts' regular library up here...that needs thinking about. _It also didn't answer my question as to why all the books were in Modern English, but part of the answer was pretty obvious; magic. I looked around and saw the letters that I hadn't read lying there. "Maybe they wrote down how to get into their rooms in the letters," I said to myself and looked at the letters. I decided to start with Gryffindor's letter.

_My Heir,  
As you know from our combined letter, you are the Heir of Hogwarts, which means that you are also each of our magical and spiritual heirs. We will each probably have blood heirs around, probably more than one heir, but you are our magical and spiritual heir. There have been magical and spiritual heirs before, and we probably have had one or two in the past, I know I had one right before I died. These are people who have what we considered to be our best traits, that young man was brave, courageous, smart, spontaneous and as selfless as they come. He was a spiritual heir, he had the spirit of a Gryffindor. There can only be one magical heir living at one time because a magical heir is exactly that, the person who inherited the magic. To be a magical heir you must also be a spiritual heir. But that is beside the point, the point is that you are my true heir; magical and spiritual. Therefore, you get my knowledge vault, vault number one; I have to say I was quite pleased to find out that I got to have the first vault of Gringotts, the others were rather grumpy about it at first but they didn't really have a choice in the matter. This vault does not have my money, jewels, fancy swords, tapestries and the like, those things are in vault number five, which belongs to my blood heirs, you don't have access to that. You will only have access to that if I have no blood relatives left. The key to that vault will only appear in the first drawer if my line dies out. What my knowledge vault does have is my personal books and manuscripts, the ones not in my office, that is, and these cannot be removed. There is also a collection of crystals imbued with knowledge, just touch them and you will be given the aptitude for learning that particular discipline of magic. I would have just given the information but Rowena wouldn't let me, she believes in the learning process and is adamant that my magical heirs not be allowed to cheat. These can only be used by magical heirs so believe me when I say, _no one _else in the world will have this advantage, another reason for Rowena's insistence. She says we can't have irresponsible powerful people running around, she really has little faith in my magic's ability to choose people with the traits I value. That might be because she is always accusing me of being rash, but again, that is beside the point. Also in the vault, you will find my wand. Now, it is very important that you only attempt to use it if it accepts you, if you don't the magic will probably overpower your core and leave you as a squib. If there is a shower of red AND gold sparks when you pick it up, then you will be able to use the wand but I warn you, it is powerful and if any of the others' wands accept you as well, then you will have to be _extremely _careful how you use it. Now, if the other wands accept you just hold them together in your hand and they should – and I say should because no one has ever tried this before – twine together in a similar fashion as your ring. If not, well, it should be interesting either way! Also, there is a statue of a lion in the back of the vault, it contains my power to create and control fire as well as my ability to transform into any feline animals I wish, and speak to them as you wish. You must go to the statue before you go and get my wand.  
Now, there are other things in the vault but they really don't need mentioning here, you should be able to figure them out on your own. So, the next thing to explain is my personal quarters. As my true heir you will be able to get in them, just go to our door, the one with all the carvings, and press my ring to the lion. In there you will find my office, training room, and sleeping quarters. You are welcome to explore all three and I encourage you to use what you find well.  
If you have any questions, well, I'm sure you're smart enough to work them out on your own. If not, then the ring will help you._

_Godric Gryffindor_

Thank you, Godric, for instructions on how to get in your rooms. But what did he mean by the ring will help me? I'll figure it out later. I folded the letter and put it neatly back in the envelope neatly before going to Ravenclaw's letter.

_My Dearest Heir,  
The others don't believe me when I say that you will be a girl but I happen to be blessed with a bit of the sight so I'm pretty sure. On the off chance that you are a boy, I sincerely apologize but can tell you that you will be one of the best boys around because you're in touch with your gentler side. But moving on, before you continue with this letter please read Godric's, unless you already have. He explained the spiritual vs. magical vs. blood heir situation and I don't think you need it repeated.  
My spiritual and magical vault is vault number two, I remember having a heated discussion with Godric and Salazar about who got which vault, Salazar was very put out because he had to settle for number three. But that is neither here nor there. There are many things in my vault; books, scrolls, manuscripts (I believe some of these once belonged to Merlin so treat them with care), magical artifacts of known and unknown origin and much more but there are two I need to draw your attention to. The first is my true diadem. I made two diadems in my lifetime, the first is the most powerful and the most potent, it is the one in my vault. Only my magical heirs are able to wear it. This diadem will allow you to do many things my second one does not; it allows you to See and Hear, two forms of true divination; perfectly recall any memory, from any age; build a fortress in your mind with a single thought; find your inner animal and most importantly, it will teach you how to feel, see and manipulate magic itself. No one besides my magical heirs knows about this diadem and you must use it sparingly or you may become addicted, that is why I created another, an exact likeness. My second diadem, which I have left in the hands of my daughter, will simply enhance the wisdom and knowledge of its wearer, the first does this as well. The second can be worn as much as wanted and by anyone. Be careful though, it is still a powerful artifact and can be dangerous in the wrong hands.  
The second object of note in my vault is my wand. Godric has already explained the possibility of combining our wands. However, only combine the wands which individually accept you, you shouldn't have any trouble because you are the spiritual and magical heir of all of us but there is always the chance that it will not work. If my theories and calculations are correct then the finished product, all four wands combined, will not be any larger or more cumbersome than a normal wand. If, when you hold my wand, blue and bronze sparks come together to form the shape of a raven, you will know you can use the wand. If this does not happen then please, do not try to cast with it.  
Another thing to mention is the pillar with a raven carved on it in the back of the vault. Touch it and if you pass the test that I have placed, it would grant you everything my first diadem offers as well as control over water. Do this before you go to my wand. Whether or not you pass this test doesn't affect if you are able to use my wand or not. Both are tested separately. The last thing is that the key to my other vault with all my money and other artifacts, which is number six, will appear in the first drawer of the desk if, and only if, my blood relatives have died out.  
That is all I will tell you, as my heir I know you are intelligent enough to figure the rest out on your own._

_Rowen Ravenclaw_

I stared at the letter trying to process what Ravenclaw had said, especially the part about the diadem. The one Voldemort found wasn't the real one! Well, it was _one_ of them but the true diadem was safe in Ravenclaw's vault. I could only imagine what Riddle would have been able to do if he got his hands on the real one; the world wouldn't have stood a chance. I was also glad that such a priceless artifact hadn't been turned into a Horcrux that I would have to destroy. I thought back to what Ravenclaw had said about manipulating magic, would it be possible for her to simply _take _the magic from Voldemort? Or would that not work because it concerned a soul and taking personal magic from someone's core? This would need thinking about. As it was, I still had two letters to read and it was already 3:30 in the afternoon. I already had an idea as to what Slytherin's letter might say so she decided to read Hufflepuff's first.


	10. Chapter 10

**Published on: 3/27/20**

**Words: 3,113**

**Coincidentally, today is my birthday. I'm 19 today. Hope you enjoy today's chapter. Next might come next Friday. Love you guys**

**Hermione POV**

_My Heir,  
I don't know how long it has been since the four of us passed from this world but I hope it hasn't been so long that people have forgotten too much. As the Heir of Hogwarts, you are the spiritual and magical heir of all of us; if you read Godric's letter I believe he has explained what that means. My vault is vault number four - it was quite amusing to watch the others as they fought over the order of the vaults. In my opinion, it doesn't really matter, they are all exactly the same size. Personally, I am quite happy to have number four, it means less time in those blasted carts. I'm absolutely certain the goblins have those just to annoy us. But moving on, just use that pretty little ring on your finger and you will be able to unearth its treasures. And believe me when I say they are treasures. A long time ago I realized that over the years people have been cross-breeding plants and some have been dying out. When I saw this, I began to travel the world to collect and preserve as many as I could find. My vault holds the fruits of my efforts, I hope that they will not be needed, that people have seen the error of their ways and no longer abandon a plant when they think they've found something better but I have a feeling, and Rowena agrees with me, that this will not happen. I have sealed this part of my vault off so that only the Heir of Hogwarts can access it, I hope that you will make sure to both restore and expand the greenhouses here at Hogwarts. There are many plants there that are not currently in the greenhouses so you will need to add some more eventually. As my heir, I know you will see this done.  
Along with my books and other items for all my heirs, there is also a pillar of jade. I have poured much of my knowledge into this stone and it is there for the use of my magical heirs. This includes the ability to speak with and feel the earth, master the elements, grow any plant and of course, cook perfectly.  
Another thing is my other vault, the one with all the money and family heirlooms in my family, the key will appear in the first drawer if I have no more blood relatives alive. The vault number is number eight.  
Finally, there is my wand. As I'm sure the others have told you, you must be very careful with this wand. You should only use it if, when you hold it, a bouquet of flowers springs forth from the end. If this does not happen, I urge you to place it back on the stand and not think of it again.  
I'm sure you'll make me proud.  
Helga Hufflepuff_

Again, I was speechless. Hufflepuff had a seed-bank in her Gringotts vault? The possibilities were becoming endless. I turned to the final letter to see what Salazar had to say for himself.

_Heir,  
You should read Godric's letter first because he has explained the whole heir business. Yes, you are my true heir, spiritual and magical if you want to be specific. You are also the Heir of Hogwarts, good for you. I have a few things to say in this letter, some of which the others aren't too fond of so it's a good thing only you can read it. Ha! Take _that _Godric, you can't see what I'm writing. Anyway, first, my vault. Rowena and Godric beat me to vaults one and two so I had to settle for three, I made a huge fuss at the time and it was hilarious. I'm pretty sure Helga knew I was just doing it for fun but maybe not.  
In my vault, I've given you, and my other heirs some interesting stuff. First, there's my wand, whatever you do, _don't _use it unless it accepts you. My wand is extremely temperamental and might blow up if it doesn't like you. I swear, sometimes that thing hates me too. If you touch it and a snake comes out lucky you, you can use it without fear of explosion or, well, at least not an immediate explosion. Oh right, before you touch the wand you should probably go to the big snake in the back – yes, I like snakes, they're cool – and look directly into its eyes. This will pass on a bit of what I know, and give you a few gifts, well, abilities actually. Anyway, you probably shouldn't let anyone else look at it because it's a basilisk statue and even though it's not alive, I've made it so it will turn them into a snake for the rest of their lives. I'm just mean like that. Right, after you look at it you should be able to change into a snake whenever you want, it's a bit like an Animagus but not really; speak both Parseltongue and Draconian (that's dragon speak if you're a bit slow); be able to look a real basilisk straight in the eye - not through the second lid, though - without keeling over dead; fly around a bit, without a broom; make just about any potion you want (I've never been able to do polyjuice or Felix Felis, which annoys me to no end - not that I've told anyone, maybe you'll have better luck); and get into my Chamber of Secrets, there's really only one secret but I like adding the 's' just to annoy people, not that they know that. There might be more that it gives you, but I can't really remember it all, you'll figure it out eventually.  
Now, there's something about me that no one knows, not even the other founders, I'm hilarious. No really, I am. And I'm a prankster at heart, they all think random annoying things happen but really it's me. I only hope that there will be at least one person in each generation who follows in my noble footsteps, even if they don't know I left them. So, in my bedroom – yeah, you have to go in there, sorry for the mess – behind the headboard, there is a hidden bookcase. In there you will find all my journals, written conveniently in Parseltongue, the others think they're dubious plans of some sort but really they're just pranks and thoughts of questionable safety and sanity. Oh, I forgot to say, when you learn Parseltongue you will be able to read and write it as well as speak.  
And last but not least, my second vault. Just as the others might have mentioned, the key will appear in the first drawer if my line has died out.  
I request that you wreak as much havoc as possible but under no circumstance are you allowed to get caught. If you do, well, I'll be very disappointed.  
Salazar Slytherin_

I actually laughed. I laughed! Slytherin was hilarious, really he was so different from what people thought he was that it was unbelievable. I think he was possessed or writing under duress. Well, I knew what I was doing this weekend! I was going to Gringotts; there was a _lot to_ do there now. I looked at my watch and realized it was almost five. With a sigh, I placed all the letters back in the drawer and was about to close it when I noticed four things in the drawer. Three of them were keys, one with a lion, one with a raven, and one with a badger. And the last thing was one last note at the very back. It was carefully printed so I didn't know who wrote it.

_P.S. When you're standing behind this desk, you can apparate anywhere. Have fun!_

I had a sneaking suspicion that it was Salazar who left it but decided not to question my luck. _I guess I'll be going to Diagon Alley sooner than I thought._ I was about to head to the Founder's Door when I heard someone's voice behind me. "I see the Heir of Hogwarts has finally come around. Took you long enough," he said, sounding rather annoyed. _Shit. _I turned around quickly with my wand out, "Who are you?" I asked, pointing my wand out. "What is your name, girl?" "Hermione Evan, you?" I really didn't know who the voice belonged to – or used to belong to – but I figured a little politeness never went astray. He hasn't attacked yet so he might not be planning too but then again 'Constant Vigilance'. "Hmm. I suppose it is. Now let's see, I don't have much time here because I'm not supposed to be here unless you really needed me," "Really?" I asked before I could stop my curiosity. "How's that?"

"Well," The voice, which I still didn't know who it belonged to, said. "I left a small piece of my magic hidden in that ring, for when the Heir arrived. I'm kinda not supposed to show myself until you need me. Same for the other founders," he said and I sighed. I brought my wand down. "No worries," I said. "I was sent back in time and am now going to purposefully change everything. I think we're even." "Did you now? That's interesting...maybe I'll stick around a bit," the man muttered to himself. Then he clapped his hands in a very uncharacteristically Slytherin manner. The man came into view and said, "Anyway, down to business, I'm Salazar Slytherin and you're the Heir of Hogwarts. Are you a pureblood?"

I scowled, it was one to rival Snape's future ones. Not only was I talking to a dead guy and standing in front of _Slytherin _himself but I was talking to a dead guy that looked very much alive. I was also about to tell him that I was as far from pureblood you could get without being a Muggle. This was not going to end well. "You know," Salazar said. "You may not be able to see it but I can see that beautiful expression on your face. Now please, answer my question before I do something I'm _really _not supposed to." As much as I wanted to find out what else the body of a hundreds-year-old dead wizard could do, I figured it was best to just answer his question. "I'm a Muggleborn."

The voice snorted. "Oh good. You shouldn't be as averse to helping me; those purebloods can be a bit stuck in their ways. It does make sense too, a Muggleborn as the Heir, it would be hard to find a pureblood with _all _our traits, especially Helga's; believe it or not, she's really quite picky." "Lovely," I said. "Of all the dead guys I could have found in this school I had to find the one of a pureblood maniac." Then what Slytherin had said finally registered. "Wait, what?" "Yes, you heard me, I have nothing against Muggleborns, especially one who has been deemed the Heir of Hogwarts. I'm a pretty good guy, once you get to know me."

"Seriously? How do you explain the fact that almost every single one of your descendants has been an evil, narcissistic, prejudiced ass hole? I should probably also mention that many of the students in your house can be described in a similar manner." "Oh, you can blame that on my wife," Slytherin said offhandedly.

This threw me off-guard. "Your wife?" I asked. "Yeah, she was a bit mental, liked to pretend purebloods were better than the rest of humanity. I mean, yeah, maybe they should be schooled separately but that's because they don't know our world and usually hold back the other students. I couldn't stand the woman, she would never shut up," he said while looking to the side. "Then why did you marry her?" I asked. "Arranged marriage," Slytherin grumbled. "Okay, that explains the children. But what about the students?"

"Well, they were fine in my day but my first grandson, he took over Slytherin house when I died, well, kinda died, I'm not quite dead yet. But yeah, my grandson, he listened to my wife a bit too much, I think. I was always busy with my work, maybe I should have spent more time with my kids," his voice faded away for a second but then it came back full-force. "But oh well, can't change that now. Anyway, I guess he gave Slytherin house a bit of a reputation. It really is too bad."

"Fine. Children and students accounted for," all of my views about Slytherin were being shaken around and part of me wanted to believe him when he said he wasn't as bad as people made him out to be, but the other part was pointing out everything that didn't add up. "But what about that dirty great snake you have down in the basement?"

"Harriet?" "No, the basilisk. You know, massive body, deadly eyes." "Yeah, Harriet." I blinked. "You named a basilisk Harriet?" "Yes. And before you start accusing me of anything, let me explain." I humphed but let him continue. "Thank you. Now, there are many different places in the castle that we built, some of them are hidden, like my chamber in 'the basement', as you called it. I happen to like snakes but the others weren't too fond of them so I built a place where I could play and work with them without annoying – or scaring in Godric's case – the others." "Let me guess." I said, momentarily ignoring the fact that I had just learned Gryffindor was afraid of snakes, "One of the snakes you liked 'playing' with is a basilisk?"

"That is correct," Slytherin said. "I'm not really sure how you know about the snake because you obviously don't speak Parseltongue – I could teach you by the way – but that's neither here nor there. And anyway, Harriet has a second eyelid she can close which turns off the killer gaze...if she was hurting people it was probably because a powerful Parseltongue related to me was controlling her."

"Oi," I said. "I can speak Parseltongue, my best friend taught me a few years ago." Slytherin looked at me questioningly "You're a muggle-born, and you were taught Parseltongue a few years ago? How is that?" he asked me. "Well, I used Merlin's Box to get back here. The future became really shitty because of a few followers of your last descendant. When my best friend was a baby, your descendant accidentally transferred some of his power to him and 17 years later, my friend and I did a blood adoption on each other and transferred some of each other's magic to the other. That, for me, also came in the form of your descendant's power so I was taught Parseltongue," I explained. "Compared to your descendant, you're not really that bad of a guy," I finished.

"I thought I just said that but I'll say it again; no, I am not. In fact, I'm rather perturbed by the fact that my reputation has been so negative all these years." There was still one more thing that I wondered about. "Hold on, how do you explain why the sorting hat puts the people in Slytherin that all turn out so bad?" "I don't know, maybe someone messed with it. Or maybe it's just the requests people make, you can request a house you know." "Yeah, I do know. One of my good friends asked not to be placed in your house so he wasn't." I said. "I also got to choose, both times around actually."

"Well, I do have another theory, I mean, I guess I did think that Muggleborns shouldn't be with the other students to start off with so maybe that was a bigger influence than I thought. Anyway, I've had some time to think it all over, sitting in a ring for hundreds of years does tend to mellow someone out, gives them time to figure things out, wouldn't you say?" "I can't actually," I responded, then I backpedaled so as not to sound rude. "I mean, I can't say because I've never been stuck in a ring for that long. The most I've ever been captured for was 42 days. Yes, I counted." I sighed. _Why did I tell him that?_ I asked herself. _Now he's going to ask why on earth I would count days in a dungeon. Too late now..._

"What do you mean '42 days'? It is rather unusual to count dungeon days. Why exactly were you counting?" "Would you like the long version or the short version?" "Hmm. That big a story, eh?" Slytherin sounded thoughtful and drifted off into silence for a moment. "Seeing as I've had absolutely nothing to do and nothing interesting to pay attention to all these years I would prefer the long version."

"Okay, long version it is." I looked around for a chair and found a plush green one with black leather trim and black mahogany accents, it was surprisingly comfortable. "You know," I said as he made his way to sit in a different chair, "It is really odd talking to a dead guy. I'm beginning to act like the madwoman I am. The only difference is now I actually have an audience." The sarcasm was clearly evident in my voice. "You know, I really like you. You make a good company." Salazar paused again, "Another question, and believe me, there is a point to it." "Fire away," I said dryly. "Right, I have no idea what 'fire away' means but I'm going to assume it's a yes. So, which house are you in?" I blinked, I had not been expecting that. "Gryffindor," I said.


	11. Chapter 11

**Published on: 4/5/20**

**Words: 2,920**

**Sorry about the delay. This was supposed to be posted on the 3rd but my computer stopped working. Hope you enjoy!**

**Hermione POV**

"Oh, dear," Salazar said. "You people are all noble and never break the bloody rules," he threw his arms up in defeat and walked away, but he didn't get far. I put her hands on my hips, "That's actually not true, the best troublemakers around have come from Gryffindor house. And if it helps, I've probably broken more school rules than the Marauders and twins combined, not to mention all the laws I like to pretend don't exist." I said. "Also, the hat did say I would fit in all the houses." I could literally feel Slytherin's interest perk up again as he turned around. "Interesting, laws as well as rules eh?" he said. "Ah yes, I remember now, you've broken the time travel rules -" I cut him off.

"Those ones I didn't actually break...Merlin's Box allows me to come back without any paradoxes," "Of course it did," he said, dripping with incredulity. "No really, it did. I could tell you-" someone else interrupted this time. "Salazar, you're not supposed to be here unless she needed your help," A male's voice said from behind me. Out of instinct, I turned around quickly with my wand out and cast a body binding spell in the direction of the voice

I didn't hear a body fall so I assume the man either dodged it or he countered it. "You've got good reflexes. A worthy heir," he said. The man came into view. The man in front of me had wavy red hair that looked like a lion's mane and a beard to match. He was tall and it was easy to see that he once had a lot of muscle. He had wrinkles on his face to show his age but we looked to be about mid-fifties. "Great, now I'm talking to two dead guys. I'm just getting crazier and crazier," I said to myself but it looks like both men heard me. "And what would your name be, young lady?" Gryffindor asked me. I recognized him from the portrait in Dumbledore's office. "Hermione Evans, sir," I said and slightly bowed my head. "Godric Gryffindor," he said and slightly bowed his head as well. "Yea, I recognize you from the portrait in the Headmaster's office," I said and he smiled kindly at me.

"Now, Salazar, what are you doing here?" he asked Slytherin. "Getting to know the heir, of course. She was about to tell me about the days being captured. It seems to be a very long story," Salazar said and he was a very good liar since we had moved on from that topic. "Well, then. I would like to hear this story too," Gryffindor said and went to sit down on a Gryffindor colored couch while Slytherin sat in a Slytherin colored one. "If you two are there, then we shall join you as well," I heard a woman's voice this time. Out of nowhere, Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw showed up in front of me. They also sat in their house colored couches and watched me.

I smiled at them, trying to hide my nervousness. "You want the story from the very beginning or from where it got shitty?" I asked them. "The very beginning would be nice, dear," Hufflepuff said and I nodded. "Well, first let's establish that I come from a different future and so I'm here to change it. You'll find out why when I finish telling the story," I said and they nodded. "Well, one day, in the year 1980, a boy named Harry Potter was born. A Dark Lord, known as Voldemort was at large and a few months before Harry's birth, a prophecy was made. '_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies'. _A year after Harry was born, on Halloween night, Voldemort came to the Potter's house because the Secret Keeper had betrayed them and sold the Potters out. Harry's dad dies first as his mom takes him upstairs. Harry's mom died for Harry, granting him the ultimate protection. Voldemort couldn't touch him. Voldemort, not knowing about the protection, turns his wand at Harry and casts the Killing Curse. The curse rebounded and hit Voldemort, unknowingly transferring some of his power inside baby Harry as Voldemort was no more, for a while only," I said and saw that they were paying close attention.

"Harry was then sent to live with his muggle aunt who mistreated him. Poor boy didn't know his name until he was five since his aunt and uncle only called him 'boy'. He couldn't live with a magical family because he was now famous. The-boy-who-lived. Everyone knew about Harry Potter, but he grew up believing that his parents died in a car crash. Eleven years after his birth, his Hogwarts letter came along but he couldn't read it. His aunt and uncle always took the letters and burned them or threw them away. It got to the point where they moved to an island and the Gatekeeper of Hogwarts had to deliver the letter. That is where he found out the truth about himself and his parents," I paused for a moment before continuing. "Soon enough, the first day of school came along and he met the Weasley family. Helping him get past the border and he boarded the train. Ron Weasley, the youngest and last son in the Weasley family, was also starting that year and the two became quick friends. I met them soon after because I was helping another student find his missing toad. We exchanged a few words before I moved again to look for the toad. I met them again in the entrance hall. Ron, Harry, and I were sorted into Gryffindor. I didn't become friends with them until Halloween that same year. Ron had said something awful about me and I heard him. I went to the girl's restroom and cried. I didn't go to the feast that night so I didn't know that a full-grown mountain troll was loose. Harry and Ron found me as the troll had gone in the girl's bathroom and started destroying it. If it wasn't for them, who knocked out the troll with his own club, then I wouldn't be here today." I then proceeded to tell them about everything else that happened during that year.

I told them about us thinking that it was Snape and how it turned out to be Quirrell. I told them about what happened in the Forbidden Forest and then the dragon, the three-headed dog, and going through tests that all the teachers had left before going to the stone and how everything ended. "Then came the second year. A few weeks before class started, Harry was visited by a house-elf named Dobby, who came over to tell him not to come to school that year because terrible things were to happen again. Dobby made a little mischief and got Harry into trouble, hoping to keep him safe for the year. Mind you, that same elf had intercepted all the letters that Ron and I had been sending to him making Harry believe that we had forgotten about him. Anyway, on Harry's birthday, Ron and his brothers, Fred and George, flew their dad's enchanted car to Harry and set him free from his 'prison'. Harry then spent the rest of the summer with the Weasleys before getting his supply letter from Hogwarts and we met up at Diagon Alley. We were all in Flourish and Blotts getting our books and we also found out that the person who wrote all the books we were going to use for Defense Against the Dark Arts was also our DADA teacher. He was a fraud though, he had interviewed all the wizards and witches that did the things he wrote in the books and then erased their memories so no one would say anything about it. We found this out at the end of the year. Anyway, in the book store, we met up with Draco Malfoy, the ferret, as I like to call him. We started picking a fight but his father came along and stopped it from happening. The Malfoys are prejudice pure-bloods, and they hated the Weasleys because they hung around Muggles. The Weasley's were called blood-traitors." I stopped to think about what happened next.

"Mr. Malfoy then grabbed Ginny Weasley's books from her cauldron and stated about the fact that the books were second-hand. What we didn't notice at the time was that when he put the books back, he had placed Voldemort's cursed diary inside as well. When the day to board the train came along, everyone got in except Harry and Ron because Dobby had stopped the wall from letting them through. They, once again, used Mr. Weasley's flying car and drove it all the way to Hogwarts. They crashed it in the Whopping Willow and after throwing out Harry, Ron, the animals, and their luggage, it drove into the Forbidden Forest. They got a month's worth of detention for that. On the last day of their detention, Ron had to clean, by hand, the Trophy room where he found a trophy set for Tom Riddle. Harry, on the other hand, had to spend his detention helping out DADA professor with his fan mail. After dinner, Ron and I went to look for Harry since he had missed it. We found him and he said he was hearing things within the walls of Hogwarts. He ran and we followed him until we reached a flooded corridor. We walked along the corridor and found the caretaker's cat hanging on one of the torches and a message written in blood right next to her. It said: The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware. The cat had been petrified. After that, Harry, Ron, and I came up with a plan to see if Draco Malfoy was the heir since he was as prejudiced as Slytherin was perceived to be. Seeing as Harry and Ron were in enough trouble as it was and I had a clean record, I snuck into Snape's private office and grabbed the ingredients I needed for a polyjuice potion." I said and looked at Slytherin with a smirk on my face.

"We were going to make ourselves look like Slytherins for a while until we knew if the ferret was the heir or not and make the ones we were turning into disappear for a few hours with a muffin made with a sleeping drought that I also made, to give us the time we needed. The plan went on as it should have and I wasn't caught for it. The ferret wasn't the heir. Another reason that Harry and Ron wanted to prove that it was the ferret was that he had called me a mudblood," I said and Hufflepuff interrupted me "What's a mudblood?" she asked. "Mudblood is a term used by prejudiced pure-bloods. It refers to someone with no magic parents. Someone that has dirty blood and is no better than the dirt on the floor. Half-bloods are treated better because they have at least one magical parent," I said and they all have grim expressions on their faces. "After that, as the months went by, more students had been petrified. Colin Creevy, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Sir Nicholas, he is a ghost. All the ones petrified were muggle-borns. I had figured out what it was that was petrifying everyone. As I was leaving the library, I found one of the Gryffindor prefects and she was also a muggle-born. I gave her a mirror and told her to look through it by every corner. I did the same. While looking through one of the corners of the school, I was also petrified. My Head of House teacher found me and I was taken to the hospital wing."

"They found me with the mirror in my hand but no one knew why it was there. What they didn't know was that I had the answers to what was happening in my other hand which they failed to check. That was in March, and there was a Quidditch game planned but it was canceled. A few weeks later, Ginny was taken to the chamber to die. That night, Harry and Ron had finally found the paper in my hand. The paper was from one of the books in the library that had information about the monster in the chamber. It was a basilisk. They connected all the dots. Harry had noticed that after every petrification, a row of spiders would be crawling away from the body. Spiders fear basilisk. And a basilisk's eye contact kills the victim. We had all been petrified because we saw its reflection. The cat saw it through the water on the floor, Colin had seen it through his camera, Justin had seen it through Sir Nick, and Sir Nick looked at it but was only petrified for a moment because he's already dead, he can't die again. I saw it through the mirror and so did the prefect. The messages on the walls that were written in blood, was blood from rosters, which the sound of their crowing is fatal to them. Another thing I answered was how it went around the school. Everyone would have noticed a fifty feet long serpent slithering around the castle, but the basilisk was moving along the castle's pipelines. Same as it did 30 years ago. Except 30 ago, a girl was killed. She's still living in the place that she died, which was the girl's bathroom on the third floor. Harry had found out where the chamber was and went with the DADA professor and Ron. The DADA professor ended up erasing his own memory on accident since he tried to use Ron's messed up wand, and a pile of rock separated him and Harry," I said and noticed how Gryffindor was glaring at Slytherin.

"Harry moved on to the chamber and found Ginny on the ground, bleeding. The diary of Tom Riddle next to her. Tom had taken Harry's wand and wrote in the air his full name: Tom Marvolo Riddle. He rearranged it and it spelled: I am Lord Voldemort. Harry found out that Voldemort is Slytherin's last descendant. Voldemort sent out the basilisk after Harry, Dumbledore's phoenix came and blinded the basilisk, and by the end of the fight, Harry had killed the basilisk. Stabbing the Gryffindor's sword through the roof of its head. Harry had come out of that fight with a fang embedded in his arm. Harry used the basilisk fang and stabbed the diary and it made that version of Voldemort die. Ginny woke up and Fawkes the Phoenix carried everyone out of the chamber and brought them to the Headmaster's office. Mr. Malfoy came in, caused a scene and before he left the castle, Harry followed him with the diary in his hand. Harry had put a sock in the pages of the book and handed it to Ferret senior, confronting him about putting the book in Ginny's cauldron. Mr. Malfoy gave the book to Dobby since the Malfoys were the family that he served. Harry told him to open it and he saw the sock, effectively freeing him. Malfoy got mad, threatened Harry and Dobby used his magic to throw Malfoy away. After everyone had woken up with the mandrake potion, there was a celebration, and to my displeasure, exams were canceled that year." I said finishing the story about my second year.

"Question. What happened with our lines?" Hufflepuff asked me while pointing at Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and herself. "Well," I said and got up. I went to the desk and opened the first drawer. I pulled out the three keys that were inside and showed it to them. "The only line around is Salazar Slytherin's. The Gryffindor and Hufflepuff line went on a few generations after your deaths before your last descendants were killed before they could have children. As for Ravenclaw's line, it died with your daughter, Helena. The Bloody Baron killed her when she refused to come back with him and in his grief when he realized that he killed the one he loved, he killed himself. Both of them are ghosts in the castle," I said and looked down. They gave me back the keys and I put them in the drawer.


	12. Chapter 12

**Published on: 4/10/20**

**Words: 2,523**

**Hermione POV**

"Is there a way for us to see everything you have gone through. That way you won't have to keep telling us since it is stressing you out," Ravenclaw asked me, seeing the effects of telling her of my first two years. I nodded at her and summoned the pensive that I had bought and sent here to me. I expanded it so they could come with me and started pouring memories of everything from third year and on. That is 11 years' worth of memories. When I finished, I looked at my watch and saw that it was nearly seven. I still had two hours to go back to the dorm.

We all went into the pensive and started watching my memories. I filed them in on what I knew about Sirius before I found out the truth about him at the end of my third year. As the memories of my third year went on, I filled in the black of what I wasn't a part of. By then of my third year memories, Rowena was happy about my studying habits, Helga was happy about my loyalties to my friends and Remus, Godric was furious about a member of his own house betraying his friends (Peter), and Salazar was happy about all the rule-breaking I did as well as when I punched the ferret for what he said.

Then we went on to see my fourth year. Rowena and Helga teased me about Viktor but dropped it after a while. Godric didn't like it so much that Ron acted like an idiot at the ball and Salazar was glad to see the dragons in the first task. Salazar was angry about what his descendant did to Cedric. Another thing is that they laughed when I showed them Harry's memory about the fake 'Mad-Eye' turning Draco into a ferret and they now understood why I called him that.

Then we moved on to my fifth year. When Umbridge came to the school and started taking over. Salazar was over joined at the number of rules I broke in just making the DA. And he became extremely happy about the twins' pranks. He didn't like that they were Gryffindors but went along with it since their pranks were still funny. All four got angry when Umbridge broke the wall to the Room of Requirement. They were happy when the centaurs took her captive. They looked at me with sympathy when they saw the Battle in the Department of Mysteries. They all noticed when my face started becoming more and more emotionless by every passing memory for then on to the time when we defeated Voldemort. They winced when they saw the days I was held in the dungeons at Malfoy Manor and the times I was tortured for information. They absorbed every bit of information that was spilled about Voldemort. Salazar looked more and more disgusted with every bit of information he heard. He especially didn't like the fact that Voldemort made Horcruxes by killing people. They were all very happy the day the light won.

And then the day when a death eater killed Harry came and they looked very saddened. They saw everything I went through to make sure someone I cared about, made it. They saw how much I sacrificed for the wizarding world and how those death eaters took from me. They saw my parents' dead bodies and knew they had been tortured before being killed. They saw everything I did to get ready to travel back in time and fix it all.

Then I decided to show them some happiness and showed them all the memories I had from my time here. Some emotion came back to my eyes at seeing everything I went through. All my happy memories made me feel again and some happiness came back into my eyes.

By the end of it, they all congratulated me on living through everything that I went through and living through it and said that I truly deserved the title of being their heir. They all disappeared one by one until Salazar was left. "I'm sorry that it was my descendant that did all of that to you. And to make it up to you, I will grant you one thing," I felt some of his magic rise and he lifted his right hand. "I, Salazar Slytherin, disown Tom Marvolo Riddle from the Slytherin family from now until the end of time. He will have no claim over anything that belongs to the Slytherin name. No access to my vault, no access to the homes that are owned by Slytherin blood, and he has no right to call himself my heir," he finished and the magic in his hand faded as what he said became true. "How does this help me bring him down?" I asked him and he smiled.

He conjured a small vial of blood, "This vial is a mixture of Godric's, Rowena's, Helga's and my blood. Since our types of blood don't coexist well, it is mixed with unicorn blood to act as a medium. I will inject this blood in you so you will be the heir to all our bloodlines," he said and conjured another vial with silver blood in it. He opened both vials and poured all the silver blood in the other vial and it turned a golden color. I summoned a needle so he could inject the blood in me. "This blood is given to you willingly. And since you will also have unicorn blood running through the veins, that has been given willingly, the curse that follows unicorn blood won't be applied to you," he said as he injected the blood in me. I blinding light surrounded me after that. When the light faded away, my hair changed a bit and my skin became paler. Salazar conjured a mirror and I looked at myself. I had my natural red hair but I also had noticeable black streaks of hair. This was a combination of my natural hair and the hair of my 'adopted family' since I have just been 'adopted' but still have my real parents, this is the result. The hair went well with my pale skin and I sensed something else that changed in me but I wouldn't know until I grew a bit older.

Then Salazar started disappearing and I went to the Founder's Door and used it to get to the Gryffindor common room. When I got there, I noticed that no one was there so I went in and made my way to my dorm. Everyone inside was sleeping so I changed quickly and let Mitsuki climb into his change while I left food for him to eat. I laid down on my bed and went to sleep.

The next morning, I woke up before the other girls and showered and changed before feeding Mitsuki and Nova. I then grabbed my map of the school and added everything I found out yesterday. I added the listening spells that I added in all the common rooms, Dumbledore's office, the teacher's lounge, the teacher's dorms, and doors that the Founder's Door showed me. After I finished with that, I let Mitsuki attach himself to my neck again before I left the dorm to go to breakfast. On my way out of the common room, I ran into James and Remus. "Hey, guys, where are the other two?" I asked them, completely forgetting the changes that happened yesterday.

They looked at me in shock and I returned a questioning look. "What?" I asked them. "What happened to your hair?" Remus asked. It took me a while to realize what they were talking about. When I did, I realized that I had forgotten to hide the change. I shrugged it off and said, "I don't know. I woke up with my hair like this. I don't mind it," I said and they nodded, believing the story I told them. "Well, it looks good on you. Now, come on, we have to get to breakfast," James said and we went to the Great Hall.

We ate breakfast together and then I went to the library. I wanted to go to the Founder's Hall but I knew that if I spent the day without being seen again, Lily would get suspicious and would want to follow me. I wasn't ready to show her the Hall since she could tell one of the girls in our dorm and I didn't know them enough to show them my hideaway. As I looked for books on spells that I still had to work on, Lady Ravenclaw showed up in front of me. "Lady Ravenclaw, what are you doing here?" I asked while whispering since I didn't want Madame Prince to get angry at me. "Well, for one, be careful when you speak with me, or any of the founders, because only you can see us and I'm here to help you with the spells you still need to learn," she said and I nodded. She helped me pick out books and answered my questions when I didn't understand something about the spell. Lily and Severus came by a few hours later and started reading as well. We would all talk about what we read after a while and then continue. At 12, we went to lunch and after that, we went our separate ways. I went to sit under the tree that is by the Lake since that was the tree Harry, Ron, and I liked to hang around. I miss them, but I knew what I was doing was worth it. I would see them again one day. I just had to do this right and everything will go my way. Right now, the only thing I can do is collect the Horcruxes until I can destroy them without Voldemort knowing what I'm doing. For that, I need to build up my physical body and also build up my magic power so I could do the spells that would disable the protective spells on the Horcruxes.

At two in the afternoon, I decided to go to the room of requirement and train a bit. When I got in, I started practicing hand-to-hand combat moves. "Need a partner?" I heard a voice behind me. I turned around and saw Lord Gryffindor behind me. "Lord Gryffindor, you want to train with me?" I asked him, surprised. He smiled at me "That would be more productive for you. This way, I could teach you some things," he said and I smiled. I nodded at him and we got into position to start sparing. We spent the next five hours sparing with small breaks in between to rest. "You're good. Keep that up and you might be able to bring down a full-grown werewolf," he said and I smiled brightly. Bringing down Greyback is one of my goals right after killing Bellatrix Lestrange.

I might leave Rodolphus and Rabastan alive since they also switched sides when the death eaters rose up again. They were good allies. Sad day for me when they died since I got close to them. They admitted to me many of their secrets. I promised myself to save them this time around, no matter what.

"Well, I should be getting back to the common room. Can't have my sister angry at me again for being late," I said and Lord Gryffindor nodded at me. He pulled me in for a hug before pulling away "I'm proud that you ended up in my house, daughter," he said and I smiled remembering that I have the founder's blood running through my veins. "Thank you, father," I said and left the RR. I went to the common room and saw Lily there talking to the girls from our dorm and I saw the Marauders on the other side talking. I sighed and went to my sister. "Hey, Lils," I said and she smiled at me. "Hey, 'Mione. Are you going to sit with us today?" she asked and I nodded. I sat beside her and listened to what everything the girls were talking about. I added a few things when I wanted but overall I just listened. "Mione, why don't you play a song for us right now? It's been a while since we last heard you play," I smiled at her and nodded. I went to my dorm, dropped off Mitsuki, fed him and Nova, and then grabbed my guitar. I started thinking of a song to play while tuning my guitar. After I finished, I started playing.

* * *

_Dancing in the kitchen  
You singing my favorite songs  
Swinging on the front porch  
Just laughing at the dogs  
How you swear you love me more  
When you're whispering goodnight  
All those little moments  
Are every reason why_

_I'm homesick  
This feeling that I'm feeling no it don't quit  
It's like half of me is missing, heaven knows it  
That all I wanna do is be alone with  
Your brown eyes all tangled up just holding  
Onto you tonight until the morning  
Baby, that's the damn truth  
If home is where the heart is  
I'm homesick for you_

_Well it says my name on a sign with a line out the door  
Sold out some little town I've never been before  
Yeah, they're screaming my name  
This is what we dreamed about  
But out here singing 'bout you baby  
All I'm thinking 'bout is how_

_I'm homesick  
This feeling that I'm feeling no it don't quit  
It's like half of me is missing, heaven knows it  
That all I wanna do is be alone with  
Your brown eyes all tangled up just holding  
Onto you tonight until the morning  
Baby, that's the damn truth  
If home is where the heart is  
I'm homesick for you  
Homesick for you, yeah yeah_

_I'm homesick  
This feeling that I'm feeling no it don't quit  
It's like half of me is missing, heaven knows it  
That all I wanna do is be alone with  
Your brown eyes all tangled up just holding  
Onto you tonight until morning  
Baby that's the damn truth  
If home is where the heart is  
I'm homesick for you  
I'm homesick for you, yeah yeah_

* * *

By the end of the song, I saw that everyone that was in the common room was listening to me. I smiled shyly and looked down in embarrassment. Lily hugged me tightly and laughed "You have to play more often," she said and I nodded at her. "Fine," I said as everyone in the common room started clapping. At nine, we all went to our dorms and went to sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

**Published on: 4/18/20**

**Words: 3,085**

**Sorry about not posting yesterday. My mother and I went out until 3 in the afternoon and when I get home, I was so tired that I knocked out on my bed. I hope you enjoy and until next week. **

**Hermione POV**

It is Saturday afternoon and I am getting ready to floo to Diagon Alley. I told Lily that she might not see me for the rest of the day because I was going to explore everything else that I haven't gotten to yet. She excepted it and went with Severus to wherever they were planning to stay for the day. I went into the fireplace at the Founder's Hall, since it also allowed me to floo wherever I needed to go. "Ready?" mother Helga asked and I nodded. "Good luck," papa Godric said and I smiled. "Go already before Rowena forces you to stay," papa Salazar said and I laughed. I said "Diagon Alley," and threw the floo powder on the ground. Green flames surrounded me and I went to Diagon Alley.

Once there, I headed to Gringotts. The adults didn't mind me since they thought I was looking for my parents. I combined the four rings and it turned into one ring with the four animals of Hogwarts surrounding a letter 'H' in the middle. When I entered Gringotts, I went to the goblin at the front desk and said: "Excuse me, Mr. Goblin, may I speak to the head goblin here, please?" I asked politely and smiled at the goblin. He looked at me and nodded. He had led me to an office with an old looking goblin. I smiled at the goblin who lead me here "Thank you, I'm Hermione Evans, you?" I asked. "I'm Ricbert, my pleasure to bring you here, Miss. Evans," he said and walked away.

I turned to the Head Gobin and smiled at him as well. "Hello, child. I am the Head Golin here, what would you like to speak to me about?" he asked me and I showed him the ring of the founders. He looked at it for a minute before nodding. "Follow me," he said. I stopped him for a moment "Also, there is one more thing," I said and went into my pocket and took out the four keys of the Founder's personal vaults. He looked at me shocked and brought out a piece of paper. "Put a drop of your blood at the top of this paper and let some of your magic flow through it and it will show what vaults are you allowed in," he said and I nodded. He gave me a knife and I stabbed my finger with it, dropping some blood on the paper. Then I let flowed some of my magic into the paper and then used magic to heal the cut as I waited for the results.

The paper started glowing and then words appeared throughout the paper. By the end of it, vault numbers and amounts appeared on the paper. It read:

_Godric's heir: #1, and #5  
Amount #5: 50 million galleons, 47 million knuts, and 40 million sickles  
Rowena's heir: #2, and #6  
Amount#6: 46 million galleons, 40 million knuts, and 37 million sickles  
Salazar's heir: #3, and #7  
Amount#7: 100 million galleons, 80 million knuts, and 70 million sickles  
Helga's heir: #4, and #8  
Amount#8: 37 million galleons, 30 million knuts, and 28 million sickles  
Merlin's heir: #300  
Amount #300: 10 billion galleons, 80 million knuts, and 50 million sickles_

I looked at the paper in shock. I knew that I would have access to the founder's vaults but I didn't know they had so much money. And another shocker is Merlin's vault. "I knew about the first four but how am I heir to Merlin if I'm muggle-born?" I asked the goblin and he looked at the paper. "Well this shows that it wasn't in your blood but it as in your magic," he said and I started wracking my brain for memories of ever absorbing Merlin's magic. Then a memory hit me.

**Third Person POV**

_Hermione was in the cottage at Lake Avalon. Mrs. Aurora Gamp was making tea while she was in the living room waiting for her. Once she brought it over, she sat in front of Hermione while she took a sip of my cup. "Is this green tea?" Hermione asked Mrs. Gamp, recognizing some of the taste. "Yes, you might notice it taste a bit different," she said and Hermione nodded. "Yea, why is that?" she asked her. "I changed it up a bit and also coated it with a bit of my magic so it would soothe you and your magic since I can sense that you're a bit hectic," Aurora said and Hermione nodded. While they were talking about Merlin's box, Aurora kept filing up Hermione's cup of tea every time it was finished. When they were done, Hermione got up and they aid their goodbyes until the next time Hermione came over. When Hermione was far enough away, Aurora said to herself: "There you go, Merlin. You have your heir. And a fine heir she will be." The reason the tea had tasted different was that Hermione's tea had an absorption potion in it that would allow the drinker to absorb any form of magic without risking pain and death. The magic that was in the tea wasn't Aurora's, it was the rest of Merlin's magic. For the potion to work, she would have had to drink the whole potion, which in this case came in the form of a whole pot of tea, which if Hermione would have noticed, Aurora hadn't had a single sip of as she answered Hermione's questions._

**Hermione POV**

Once I remembered the memory of having tea with Mrs. Gamp I noticed that the magic that coated the tea wasn't her's but Merlin's. I sighed and looked at the Head Goblin. "Since I didn't know about Merlin's vault, I don't have the key to it," I said to him and he smiled at me. "Of course not, it was given to us for when his heir came," he said and he went into a drawer and pulled out a key. He then went to one of the many drawers that had a lock on it in his office. He opened one and took out another key. He closed the drawer and put the first key back in his desk drawer while he handed me the other one.

It was a long silver key that had a moon and an owl at the top of it. The bottom had a heart-shaped key end. "Let your magic flow through the key and if it reacts then you will be allowed in the vault," the goblin said and I did as told. A moment after, the owl's eyes glowed blue and so did the eyes in the face of the moon. The goblin smiled and stood up, "Very well, now, let's start heading to the vaults so you could get what you need," he said and I followed him to the carts. We went to the bottom, where all the important vaults were kept. "We use the dragon's to keep these vaults safe from people who extra measure. Don't worry, they know who has vaults down here, so they only attack wizards and witches that have no business here," he said and I nodded.

Once we reached the Godric's vault, I summoned his crest ring and then pressed it in the middle of the door. The door swung open silently and I saw hundreds of books and manuscripts stacked neatly around the relatively large vault, in the very middle was a small pedestal with ten or twelve crystals set carefully on a pillow of red velvet. Deciding to look at them later, I walked to the back wall where the statue of the lion stood. I went to it and stared at its eyes. Suddenly, I felt like my whole body was on fire. I suddenly felt so much knowledge in my head that it gave me a headache. Then my body changed shape into my lion form and from there it changed into different feline types. My body went through 44 different animagus forms, which included a griffin, that by the end of it my whole body was sore. Once everything finished, I stood up and felt more powerful than before. I knew that once I got back to the school I would need to train so that I could control all my new magic. I would also need to train my body with all the weapons and combat moves that I just learned.

I then went to where a low table stood and a simple wooden box was set on. I gasped when I opened the lid, inside lay Godric's wand, I could almost hear the magic in it, I could certainly _see_ it, but to hear it, that was new. It was made of dark chestnut wood and had a lion, griffin, and phoenix carved into its handle. Reverently, I reached in and picked up the simple wooden stick. As soon as I had the wand in my grasp, red and gold sparks flew from the wand, filled the entire vault and spilled out into the great cavern of Gringotts. _Well, I guess the wand accepts me._ I thought as the shocked Head Goblin poked his head in with a smile. With a smile, I left the vault, I would come back to test out the crystals, look through and copy the books, and catalog the contents of the vault later. I moved on to vault number two.

Rowena's vault was only slightly larger than Gryffindor's and that was mostly because of the plethora of books and racks of delicate magical artifacts. I left most everything alone and just headed straight to the back of the vault where a pillar with a raven carved in it stood. I put my hands on it and suddenly felt like I was drowning. I felt my head beginning to feel like it was being split apart with all the knowledge and power that Rowena promised. By the end of it, I felt like I would need to sleep for a whole week before being able to feel my body again. I moved away from the pillar and looked at the table next to it and saw a plain box, the same sort of magic flowed out when I opened it. The simple wand was made of rich mahogany and the handle had a carving of a raven in flight with other, smaller animals scattered around. When I touched it, blue and bronze sparks flooded out and formed the shapes of ten ravens. _I think this one accepts me too._ Then I placed both wands in my palm, holding them together, they twisted around each other and then melted into one single wand. It was exactly the same length and width of my own wand.

In Salazar's vault, I went to look into the statue's eyes and take his gift. After all, I would need fluent parseltongue to go say hello to 'Harriet' in the Chamber of Secrets, which actually only had one secret; a huge-ass Basilisk. I walked over to the large basilisk statue, took a deep breath, and looked directly into its eyes. Suddenly, it felt like I was flying through the air. Then, the knowledge started pouring in. I knew that if I decided to jump off the Astronomy tower, I would end up flying. Then, out of the blue, I started singing the alphabet song in what I knew to be Parseltongue quickly followed by the same song only in roars, bellows, and growls, which I guessed was Draconian, by some miracle I found that my voice wasn't hoarse from being used in such a...foreign way. The poor Head Goblin looked like he wished he _hadn't_ had to be here so early in the morning. Then came the transformations, in rapid succession my body cycled through thousands of different snake forms, I was left panting and feeling like I had just completed the longest most drawn out apparation. _Thanks SO much, Salazar, just what I wanted; more than 3,000 animagus forms in under a minute added to the felines and my original animagus forms. Lovely._ Before I had time to fully process this, my head started to feel like it was splitting open again.

I could feel something behind my eyes rearranging itself. When the pain receded and I peeled one eyelid up, I found that I could zoom my vision in and out, it was the weirdest sensation but now I had a telescoping vision. _Handy._ I blinked twice and it 'turned off' so to say. What I didn't know was that in those few moments my eyes looked like Dragon Eyes, they had vertical pupils and were an unbelievable kaleidoscope of brilliant blue and green. But the gifts weren't done, I felt a slight tingle in my fingers and got the impression that it would be rather difficult (but not impossible) to make a mistake in potions from now on. I felt a few other things settle into my mind and a few small adjustments made to my temperament, for example, I felt my mischievous streak being added to. I dropped to the floor of the vault and tried to catch my breath, "Fucking Salazar Slytherin! He probably made that as difficult as possible! Goddammit, I feel like I got run over by a train and then trampled by the entire world population of Hippogriffs!" Still swearing a blue streak at Founders with bad senses of humor, I approached the box with his wand. _Do I really want to try and pick this up?_ She asked herself, _It might be extremely dangerous to my health._ Shrugging off the feeling of impending doom, I opened the box and felt the familiar magic wash over me.

I was quite surprised to see that his wand was a very light-colored maple wood, history implied that it was extremely dark, _Hmm, yet another thing they got wrong_. The carving on the handle was both expected and unexpected, there were the obligatory snakes, but there was also a dragon worked in. There was more to Slytherin than an evil, dark, slimy, snake lover, who would've known? When I picked it up, a snake didn't come out, I was just about to put it away and back away slowly when bright green words formed in the air.

_'Ha! Scared you! In my letter, I said you could have the wand but only if it produced a snake. Well, that's boring so I made this a bit more...interesting. I hope you already looked at the statue if not, you've got about five minutes.'_

"Ahh, SHIT!" I yelled. This was _not_ going to end well. A clock appeared and started counting down from five minutes, 4:59, 4:58, 4:57...0:02, 0:01, 0:00, then some more words came out of the wand.

_'You'll probably want to get out of the vault and into the caverns right about now...'_

I didn't even bother to try and guess what might happen, I just ran. As soon as I reached the cavern I yelled at the Head Goblin to get back, and he did so just in time. A massive dragon came out of the wand, and not in sparks or magicky swirls or anything, this was honest to goodness conjured dragon. It flew around for a few minutes before perching on an imagined _something_, it was a good thing that I had 'learned' Draconian because otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to understand what was going on.

(A/N: **Bold is the conjured Dragon**)

**"Who are you that wants to claim the noble, genius, honorable...blah blah blah. Salazar Slytherin's wand?" **I swallowed, "Hermione Evans, Heir of Hogwarts." **"Well isn't that good for you. Why do you want the wand? Power? Riches? Fame?" **"Um, no. I'm kinda working on putting it together with the other Founders' wands. I'm going to use it to prevent the future from ever happening, or I'm going to try. I'm not going to lie, the money I already have but don't need much and power would be nice, but fame? Nah, you can keep that." **"Interesting answer, what is your view on breaking the rules?" **"Ha! You asked me this when I, an 11-year old, is here in Gringotts when I should be in school. I'm perfectly happy to break the rules, not to mention the few laws I like to pretend don't exist. I'm breaking every single rule on not using magic outside of school and currently planning on how I'm going to get away with this" **"Perfect! You can have the wand!" **"Really?" **"Sure. Just don't go and try to rule the world or kill everyone or something. That's bad form." **"Um, okay. Oh, I have a quick question. Why did Salazar make you a dragon and not a snake? Wasn't he all about the snakes?" **"That's a common misconception. Salazar actually liked dragons more, but snakes were easier to control and he made it a hobby of his to scare Godric. Godric was more afraid of snakes than dragons. Anyway, snakes gave Salazar a more mysterious air; dragons are all-powerful and dramatic, snakes are sneaky and quiet. He was a funny one, Salazar was."**

"Okay, thanks." And with that, the dragon exploded in a shower of green and silver, ten seconds later, every single dragon in the bank (there were actually only three but the effect was the same) roared their greetings to the first Dragon Speaker in hundreds of years. The goblin acquainted himself with the floor. "Right," I said as I closed the door to Slytherin's vault, I would come back later to see what _other_ booby traps he had included.


	14. Chapter 14

**Published on: 5/1/20**

**Words: 2,198**

**Hermione POV**

Finally, I reached Helga's vault. When I walked in, I went to the middle of the room and stood in front of the jade pillar, I watched as the left wall shimmered and faded away to reveal row upon row of jars of seeds. Each jar was neatly labeled and had a small notebook filled with information about the plant. I was floored, this was amazing, it was probably better than any of the other contents in the other vaults. This was preserved history, soon to be _living_ history. I vowed that one of the first things I do as the Heir of Hogwarts and Guardian of the Founders Hall, would be to expand the greenhouses, I would build as many as they would need to grow every plant in this vault. Even if it meant creating an entire village of greenhouses to hold every plant in the world, I would do it. With that promise, I put my hands on the pillar and allowed all of Helga's power to surround me. I felt like I was underground surrounded by the riches on mother earth. I felt all the knowledge that Helga had flow into my brain and add to everything I got from the other founders. I now also knew everything about cooking so I could help my mom in the kitchen whenever she needs it.

I then turned to Helga's wand; the box emitted the same powerful magic as the others did. The wand was a honey oak wood and the handle had a beautiful design of vines on it. As I picked it up the entire vault was filled with flowers of all sorts, some of which I had never seen before. They only lasted a second and soon faded away, but that was all I needed to know that the wand had accepted me. When I had all the wands in my hand, I watched, transfixed as they twisted and turned around each other before forming one wand. But it didn't feel complete. I drew my wand and laid it next to the one made of the Founders' ones, it twisted in as well. The finished product was beautiful, the five different types of woods had melted together in a way that you could only tell there were different woods when the light hit it just right, otherwise, it just looked like a medium brown wood with an interesting, multicolored grain. But upon closer inspection, you would see that what looked like the grain was, actually, five different kinds of wood that completed one full twist before being attached to a handle made of the vine wood that her original wand was made of. The handle was carved with a lion, raven, snake, and badger. There were smaller more intricate carvings of other animals and the very end of the handle was ringed by a tiny vine. It was probably the most beautiful wand I had ever seen, it also solved the potential problem of having two identical wands in use at the same time.

I twirled the wand through my fingers and a huge jet of sparks raced out of it, forming a lion, snake, badger, and raven which ran, slithered, or flew around the vault once, before dashing out the door. _This is going to be interesting._ I thought as I wandlessly woke the goblin up, I knew that this wand was probably the most powerful to have ever existed, and didn't want to try to cast anything with it until I was positive that I could control it properly. The last thing I needed was a goblin that was so hyped up from 'enervate' that he never slept again. With a quick 'Thank you' from the Head Goblin, we left Helga's vault and into Godric's vault. Once at door, I pulled out the key with the lion on it and let the Head Goblin open it. Once inside, I saw a lot of money inside as well as weapons and heirlooms. I looked around and saw portraits around as well. I had a feeling that the rest of the vaults would look the same so I walked out and closed the door.

"I would like to come back at a later date to thoroughly check the next three vaults. I would like to check Merlin's vault today though before I go back," I said and the goblin nodded and we headed to Merlin's vault. Once there, I gave the key to the goblin and he opened the door. I went in and instantly felt the powerful magic surrounding the vault. I looked around and saw that half of the, relatively large vault, was filled with money while the other half was filled with ancient books of spells, potions, curses, hexes, wands, and potion ingredients. In the middle of the vault, there was a stand with a box on top of it. I walked to it and opened the box. Suddenly, Russian words pop out of the box and I manage to read them.

_Dobro pozhalovat', moy ozherel' ye obladayet magicheskimi sposobnostyami, kotoryye pomogut vam v vashikh poiskakh. YA znal, chto ty davno stanesh' moim naslednikom, Germiona Evans. Eto ozherel'ye takzhe pomozhet vam skryt' svoi magicheskiye sily ot vsekh. Nosite yego, I vasha magicheskaya sila pokazhet, chto vy takoy zhe, kak lyubaya drugaya ved' ma vashego vozrasta. Odnako, prezhde chem nadet' yego, ya boyus', chto na ozherel'ye yest' zaklinaniye, poetomu ono mozhet proverit' vas, chtoby uvidet', dostoyny li vy yego pomoshchi. YA nadeyus', u tebya vse khorosho. Krome togo, vnutri yest' kol'tso, eto dokazatel'stvo togo, chto vy prinadlezhite moyey sem'ye I yavlyayetes' moim naslednikom. Nosi eto s gordost'yuLyubov', Merlin_

"Welcome, my heir. This necklace has magical powers that will help you in your quest. I knew that you would long be my heir, Hermione Evans. This necklace will also help you hide your magical powers from everyone. Wear it, and your magic power will show that you are the same as any other witch of your age. However, before putting it on, I am afraid that there is a spell on the necklace, so it may test you to see if you are worthy of its help. I hope you are doing well. Also, there is a ring inside, this is proof that you belong to my family and are my heir. Wear it with prideLove Merlin," I said out loud. I sighed and looked at the necklace and ring in the box.

The necklace had a silver chain with a heart pendant on it. The heart had a black diamond in the middle and it was surrounded by intricate designs. The ring had a sapphire diamond in the middle and surrounded by other diamonds that shaped a star.

I touched the heart and immediately I felt myself be pulled into my head. "_Who wishes to possess me?_" I heard a voice and there wasn't anyone around me. "My name is Hermione Evas. Who are you?" I asked. "_I am the magic in the necklace. Why do you wish to wear the necklace?_" it asked me. "I wish to protect my friends and family from Voldemort. I want my magic to stay hidden from him until I have everything that I need to kill him. I want my old friends to have a different upbringing than the one they had before. But my most selfish reason would be because I don't want to lose anymore more people to Voldemort than I already have. The friends I had in my past life will never be the same ones that are born twenty years from now because those friends grew up with hardships thanks to Voldemort and I want to end them before they even start. I want him gone right now, but I need time, I need allies, I need power, and I need to know stuff to destroy him. I know I can't do it all by myself," I replied while trying to fight my tears. "Very well, I will grant you my magic from within the necklace. So mote it be," it said and next thing I know, I'm back in the vault. I smiled and put grabbed the necklace and put it around my neck. I then grabbed the ring and put it put in on top of the Gryffindor and Slytherin ring on my right ring middle finger.

We walked out of the vault and back to his office. Once there, he sat in his chair and said: "Well, I have to give you two more things." He opened the bottom drawer in his desk and pulled out a small leather coin purse. He gives it to me and says, "This bag is synced with Lady Hufflepuff's vault. Just put your hand in and it will summon the amount of money that you need. The last thing I need to give you is the four rings that are in the purse right now. Those are the family rings of Lord Gryffindor and Slytherin and Lady Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. You will need them if you ever come here to open those vaults and you don't have the key. I hope to see you soon Lady Evans, it was a pleasure showing you around today," he said and I smiled at him. "Thank you for your time Mr. Head Goblin, I had a wonderful time today," I said and walked out of his office and then out of Gringotts.

While I walked back to the floo, I decided to stop by an alley and cast a glamour charm on me so no one would notice me. I went to a few stores to buy Christmas presents. After an hour of shopping for everyone, I went to a jewelry store to buy a charm bracelet to hold all the important objects that I have. The founder's rings and Merlin's necklace will stay on display but I can't wear another set of rings and keep the keys close without someone catching me. I bought a charm bracelet with 13 charms on it. I made the rings and keys of the founder's vaults look like charms and put them on the bracelet. I did the same with Merlin's ring. That left me with four charms left to add whenever I needed to.

After I went back to Hogwarts, it was past lunchtime. Luckily, I ate before coming back. I am currently in the common room reading a book while the Marauders sat by the fireplace and fooled around. Lily was spending time with our dormmates which I still didn't trust even though I knew their futures.

After a while, the Marauders got up from their seats and came to sit with me. "Hey, 'Mione, we were wondering if you could help us with something?" Sirius asked while the others looked at me. "What is it?" I asked as I brought the book down and looked at Sirius. "Woah, what did you do to your eyes?!" Sirius shrieked and the rest of the group looked at my eyes. I was confused as to what was so interesting about them since they have seen my eyes before. "What?" I asked them.

Remus summoned a small mirror and handed it to me. When I looked at my eyes, I nearly screamed in shock. My eyes, though they were green, had turned a bit brighter and around the pupil, there was a blue circle. "I didn't do that," I said as I continued to inspect them. After a while, I decided that I liked it. "I like it though," I said and they nodded. "It looks cool," Remus said and I smiled at him. "So, what did you want to ask me?" I asked looking back at Sirius. "Right, well, we were wondering if you could help up get James on Lily's good side?" he asked and I looked at James. "Why would I help you with that?" I asked. "I want to be her friend and apologize for that happened on the train even though Snivellus is a git," James said and I scowled. "Don't call him that. Just because he's smarter than you doesn't mean you have to be mean to him about it," I yelled at him, grabbed my book, and left the common room.

**Remus POV**

I sighed as I watched Hermione storm out of the common room. "I told you not to mention Snape," I said to my friends as I sat down on Hermione's chair and brought out a book of my own and started reading. "What do they see in that guy? We are a much better company than Snivellus," Sirius said as he patted James' back. I shook my head and ignore them. Peter just stood there and agreed with everything Sirius said. _Why do we hang out with him? _I thought to myself. They sat around me and started talking while I listened on some occasions.


	15. Chapter 15

**Published on: 5/15/20**

**Words: 3,031**

**Hey everyone. I'm sorry that I didn't post last Friday but I was still working on this chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Until next time.**

**Hermione POV**

I went to the Founder's Hall through the door across the hall from the RR. I decided that tonight I was going to check out the Founders' quarters. And I would ask one of the Founders if I could sleep in their room for tonight since I don't feel like going back to the common room. I pulled out Mother Rowena's ring and placed the diamond on the lower part of Hogwarts crest where the raven was. The carving of the raven filled the door and as I touched it, it swung open. I found myself in a slightly cluttered study. Three of the walls were filled by bookcases and the fourth had maps, floor plans, blueprints, sketches, and all manner of tapestries, including a family tree. The desk was covered in books, papers, and journals; there were many side tables and cabinets as well as a few sitting chairs. All of it was perfectly organized but it still gave the impression of chaos because of the sheer amount of stuff in the room. Near the wall covered in papers and tapestries – one was of Hogwarts herself – was a beautiful drafting table with many sets of drawers beneath it. I realized that that must be where Ravenclaw worked on all the plans for Hogwarts; from the window, I guessed that this study must be on the ground floor in one of the older parts of the castle – unless it was an enchanted window in which case the room could be anywhere. Right next to the Founder's Door there was another, which when I opened it, revealed a tasteful sitting room, with two more doors around it. The first contained a modest bathroom and the second an elegant bedroom, there was a connecting door between the two.

I hurried back to the Founder's Door and watched as the ring changed to Helga's, I touched the carving in the lower left of the Hogwarts crest and a carving of a badger. I touched the enlarged carving to The Door and stepped into another study, this was similar to Rowena's but there weren't as many books and there was a kind of second room that looked to be an elaborate kitchen of sorts. Her personal rooms were almost identical, the only difference being the color scheme. The ring changed to Godric's and I quickly touched the corresponding carving.

This time The Door was filled with a lion. His study was quite messy compared to Rowena's and Helga's, and I couldn't really figure out if it was organized or not. Maybe Godric was one of those people who had a spastic memory and a random organization system. Instead of a kitchen, Godric had what looked like a massive training room, there was a formal dueling platform on one side, all sorts of weaponry hung on the walls and a huge open space in the middle. Again, his rooms were different only in their colors.

I was both excited and nervous to see Salazar's rooms, who knows what he might have hidden away in there? But, the ring changed, and a carving of a snake-filled the door. At first, I just looked in The Door, checking for any dangerous creatures or booby traps; all I saw was a meticulously organized study and a very large potions room, there were at least 20 different cauldrons, thousands of perfectly labeled ingredients in racks on the walls and many bookcases filled with journals and notebooks. I didn't see anything too suspicious – the many foreign potions ingredients were all currently sealed away – so I stepped in.

I looked around and went to his bedroom and saw that on one of the walls, hung a family tree. I saw that it was spelled so that it would automatically show the recent descendants. I noticed that under the name of Salazar Slytherin, right next to his son, was my name. "You were added the day you took the blood adoption from all of us. You are a part of all of our families and if you look at it one way, the aunt of Voldemort," I cringed at that realization. "Damn, I didn't see it like that until now," I said to him and he chuckled. "You can sleep in any of our rooms if you want. You don't need to ask." I yawned at the thought of sleeping. I nodded at him and went to his bed and lied under the cover. Papa Salazar came to me and stroked my hair as I fell asleep. "We're all very proud of you, princess. Next weekend, Godric will teach you how to control all your new powers so you don't lose control. Until then, just hold onto your new wand, think of your old one and it will split from the other four so you can use it in class with no fear," I heard him say and I let sleep take me.

_~Next Morning~_

I woke up in papa Salazar's bedroom. I sighed got out of bed. I went to the Founders' Door and pressed the carving of the lion so I could get to the common room. Once the door was in front of me, I walked through and made sure that no one was around before passing through the notice-me-not barrier and heading towards my dorm so I could shower and change. I didn't notice, however, that Sirius was on the other side of the common room where I couldn't see him but he could see me. I didn't notice that he saw me appear out of nowhere.

After I showered and change, I check the clock and saw that I still have 30 minutes before breakfast began, so I fed Nora and Mitsuki and felt for the Great Hall. As I headed there, I heard someone running behind me and somehow I knew it was Sirius. "Hey, 'Mione. I'm sorry about last night. James and I didn't mean to get you mad about Snape," he said and I sighed. "I forgive you, but no more picking on him. He hasn't done anything to you guys except being mine and Lily's friend. And that doesn't concern you guys so just leave him alone," I said and he nodded. "We'll try. Now, I noticed that you didn't come back to the dorm last night, where were you?" he asked me and I tensed a bit. "I got back to the dorm late in the morning. I'm sorry if I worried you," I said as we entered the great hall and sat together. "Alright," he said and we talked about how we thought our classes were going to go and which ones we looked forward to.

After a while, more people started showing up. McGonagall started passing out schedules and after breakfast, we all headed to class. We had Trasfiguaration first and then Herbology. After that is Charms, then Potions, then DADA, and last History of Magic. After that are extracurricular classes like Muggle Studies, Arthrimacy, Care for Magical Creatures, and the like. The classes witch order every day and on Fridays we have the added class of flying lessons.

As the days went by, I took many notes on the theory of things, even if I already knew it, and I also took notes on wand movements just in case. Better to have it on my notes than to have to look through the books later on. Over the last few days, I have also spent time with Lily and Sev while doing our homework and studying our notes. Today is Friday, and we are in our last class of the day, which is flying lessons. This is the first one this week. My last class didn't go so well since we had it with Slytherins. Avery, Mulciber, Rosier, and Wilkes kept insulting Lily and me about being muggle-borns. It was quite annoying. Slughorn wouldn't do anything since they did it when he wasn't paying attention to us.

So far, the classes have been good. Potions with Slughorn were fun since Lily, Sev, and I made perfect potions. Much to the displeasure of Mulciber. Transfiguration and Charms were easy classes too since I knew most of the things already. Lily and I are helping Sev with those classes though we are all doing well in DADA. History of Magic is as boring as ever so while I think of other things, Lily takes all the notes she can. Arithmancy, CMC, and Muggle Studies are pretty easy as well and thankfully, the only classes we share with Slytherin are flying lessons, DADA, and potions. Everything else is we share with Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. Astronomy is held from 12 to 1 in the morning on Tuesdays and so far that was interesting. Sirius helps me in that class since Blacks usually know a lot about stars because they name their kids after stars and constellations.

As we reach the pitch, Gryffindors line up in one line while Slytherins on the other side. "Good afternoon, class," Madam Hooch said as she passed us. "Good afternoon, Madam Hooch," we all say together. I stood on Lily's right side with Sirius on my right and James on the other side, then Remus and last is Pettigrew. "Now everyone, step up to the left side of their broomstick, hold your right arm over it and firmly say 'up'," she says. I did as told and my broom came to my hand instantly. Following me came James and Sirius, then Remus. I helped Lily with hers and Pettigrew was one of the last people to get their brooms up.

We all mounted our brooms and Hooch fixed the position of some of the students. After that, just like in the past, she asked us to kick off the ground, hover a bit and come down. I was having some serious déjà vu, especially when I heard a scream and saw Pettigrew going way too high and falling down. I then realized that he reminded me a lot of Nevile; except that Nevile was a hero and Pettigrew was, most definitely, not. I have kept my distance from Pettigrew for the past week because I don't plan of getting to know him. Maybe if I could forgive him for what he did, I might be able to get along with him but right now, no.

"What happened?" Madam Hootch gave Peter a stern look and then looked him up and down. "Are you hurt?" "I... I don't know," he whimpered trying to stand and failing. "My ankle hurts." Madam Hootch took her wand and whispered something that I recognized as a diagnostic spell. "Alright boy, it seems like you've got yourself a broken ankle. I'll need to take you to the hospital wing," she concluded and turned to the rest of the class. "Do NOT attempt to fly before I get back or I'll have you on the next train," she looked at all of us in turn. "Those of you who had difficulty calling the broom, try it again until you can do it perfectly. And that is ALL you are allowed to do," she finished and left with Peter.

Once they were out of sight, chatter erupted, flying forgotten for the time being by most. Lily excluded, of course. "What am I doing wrong?" my sister questioned as her broom dropped again just as it reached her hand. "I was able to do it when Madam Hootch was here." "Honestly, Lily, I don't think you're doing anything wrong," I started. "You just need to concentrate and be confident. I heard that broomsticks don't respond well to hesitation or fear," my voice became almost a whisper. _Harry, I heard it from Harry._

"Alright. Okay, I just need to not overthink this then," Lily said taking a few deep breaths. "Overthink this all you want, Evans, it's not going to help," they heard a voice coming from the Slytherin side. Mulciber. I knew this was not going to end well. "Mudbloods simply do not deserve to fly and your broom knows it," he finished with a chuckle and a few of the Slytherins followed suit. There were multiple intakes of breath from the Gryffindor side when he said it. Lily seemed angry as well. She didn't really know what the term meant, but Mulciber made it obvious that it was far from a compliment. What was also obvious was that Sirius and James were about to take action. James might not get along with Lily and she might dislike me a lot, but this was about their house and those in it. I appreciated it, but I had different plans for the self-centered pureblood. All my frustration from the week slowly coming to the surface.

"Really, Mulciber?" I gave him a skeptical look. "Just like your wand knows you suck at being a wizard. Oh wait, your wand doesn't need to know that since you're generally shitty at it. You honestly think you are better than us because of something as insignificant as blood?" I shook my head and turned it to the side as if evaluating him. "Care to prove your little theory?" I raised my eyebrow. "What do you suggest?" he spat as he moved forward. "How about a race?" I suggested. "A race?" Mulciber laughed and this time most of the Slytherin joined. Even the Gryffindors seemed more than unsure. "You want to race _me_?" "What a shocker, right?" I rolled my eyes. "One lap. We start and finish here. No need for wagers since we know what we are trying to prove. Are you in?" I gave him a smirk worthy of a Black.

"Oh, I'm in," he said, this time with no hint of amusement in his voice. "What are you doing? You're going to get expelled! And killed! You don't even know how to fly," Lily tried to put some sense into me. I just smiled. I remembered saying almost the same thing to Harry when he went after Malfoy. Now I understood him. Although, I was doing it out of pride and frustration; Harry's reason was better. "I'm not going to get expelled or killed, Lils," I tried to reassure my sister. "At worst I'll be asked to join the Quidditch team," I chuckled. "What?" Lily looked at me as if I was insane. "Never mind," I waved her off. Sometimes I forgot I was the only one who knew. "I'll be fine, don't worry."

"This is stupid, 'Mione," my sister tried one last time. "Trust me, I know," I chuckled before taking my broom and moving towards Mulciber. I didn't move far, however, because my path was blocked by Sirius. "You have no flying experience; he is going to crush you," he simply stated. "Thank you for your confidence in me," I rolled my eyes. I really needed to get rid of that habit. "I'm just stating the facts. He knows how to fly, you don't," he said in the same even tone although there was a hint of... concern?... in his eyes. "Can we save this for later?" I asked. "I would really like to go and win the race now," I smiled with my not-so-innocent smile. Sirius exhaled and turned sideways to let me through. "Good luck," he whispered just before I was out of earshot.

I did not know what was making me do this. Lily was right, the race was stupid. And I was not stupid. I would never have done this in my past, even if I knew how to fly. But this week was all kinds of frustrating. Scratch that, these past few months were. And Mulciber was not making it any easier. His mudblood comment just reminded me of Malfoy and all the stupid pureblooded ideas that led to the war in the first place. After all, Voldemort's army was full of mindless idiots who thought themselves better than everyone else. I was not having it. I would destroy that snakeface's army one bigoted, narcissistic daddy's boy at a time. Except that as I was nearing Mulciber and the 'starting line', I started feeling anxious. What if I forgot how to fly? What if my fear of heights came back? Technically, I haven't been on the broom for the last eleven years, so both of those were a possibility. And Mulciber could be a good flyer for all I knew. And then there was, of course, the possibility of getting expelled. _NO. None of that. You made your bed so lie in it. That stupid boy needs to learn some manners and you're going to teach him. If you lose, you lose. But you need to give it your absolute best shot._

"You both ready?" James took his assumed referee post. He was looking straight at me with a similar look that Sirius gave me just moments before. Once they both nodded, he continued. "Okay then. One lap. The race ends once one of you passes me. No funny business," he gave a dirty look to Mulciber. "Mount your brooms." _I could do this. I was a good flier and I was desperate for something good to finally happen to me._ _Perfect combination. _I mounted my broom with new-found confidence. "On three," James announced. "One, two...Three!" he shouted. Of course, Mulciber left on two, which wasn't really surprising but still startled me a bit. I could just about hear James' angry shout of "that son of a..." before I went after Malfoy's reincarnation.


	16. Chapter 16

**Published on: 5/29/20**

**Words: 2,302**

**Hermione POV**

Flying was really like riding a bike, I soon realized. You couldn't forget how to do it. The wind was already messing up my hair and making my eyes water. I loved it. It felt liberating and thrilling. At this moment I held my life in my hands. Literally. One wrong move and I could smash into the stands or fall and break something. In my past, that thought caged me. Now, however, it was as scary as it was empowering. _Must be the Gryffindor in me_. Honestly, if I wasn't racing I would probably have a 'Titanic' moment right about now. Speaking of racing, though. Once I finally caught up to Mulciber (about one-third of the race in), I really couldn't help myself. "What was that, Mulciber? Thought the only way to win against me was by cheating? Well, I couldn't agree with you more," I laughed. "Shut up, mudblood," he spat and tried to kick me off the broom. _Ha! Good luck with that. _"Bye, Mulciber," I gave him a sly grin before taking over.

I couldn't believe I was winning. Granted, it was against an eleven-year-old, but it still made me feel like I could take on the whole world. I had to give it to Mulciber, however. He was just behind me and he was a rather good flyer. A good cheater too, apparently; he tried all kinds of tricks including (but not limited to) trying to pull the end of her broom. Unfortunately for him, though, I was better and managed to outmaneuver him, gaining a bit more distance at the same time. Just before the end he also tried some verbal abuse, but it was too late. Just as the last syllable of 'mudblood' left his mouth, I passed James.

I won.

It was a small victory; rather insignificant in the grand scheme of things. It had nothing to do with my mission. And I didn't think it would change how Mulciber or other bigoted fools would look at me or other muggle-borns. In reality, it would probably make them hate me even more. But I could not force myself to care about that. It was a start and it was a win. The first win in my new life. I needed it to prove to myself that I could do something right.

When I got off the broom there was about ten seconds of absolute silence and gaping before Gryffindors erupted into cheers. All of them, except Sirius and Lily. Sirius was looking at me like I was a puzzle. I couldn't blame him; my win was rather unlikely. Lily, on the other hand, looked at me with relief and a bit of a teary expression. It just dawned on me that my sister was probably worried about me. A lot more worried than I was when Harry went after Malfoy. _Damn. _I went to my sister and hugged her. "I'm sorry you were scared for me," I whispered. "I cannot believe you did that," Lily muttered back. "I thought you were going to kill yourself." "Don't be so dramatic, sis," I chuckled releasing my sister. "At least I won," I playfully wiggled my brow. "You're worse than Potter," Lily shook her head but cheered up.

"Hey! I resent that," James appeared right next to us. "Congratulations, by the way. You're a natural!" He patted me on the back. "Thanks," I gave a small nod. _Yeah, sure... Natural. _James turned towards the rest of our house. "Okay, Gryffindors, let's give another round of applause for our star of the hour!" Many Gryffindors cheered and applauded. I looked at Sev and he nodded at me. I smiled and nodded back. It wasn't until Mulciber yelled that I realized he hadn't landed yet. "Hey, mudblood!" I looked up at him and saw him about 30 feet in the air. He held out his arm and I saw him holding the necklace I got from Merlin's vault. I touched my neck and felt it bare. I growled at him and yelled, "Give that back, Mulciber!" he just chuckled and cast a spell to make it shrink. I watched in horror as he pulled out a vial and put the shrunken necklace in it and closed the vial.

"Come and get it," he said and I did just that. I grabbed my broom again and flew up next to him. "Give it, Mulciber, or I'll knock you out of the sky," I said while trying to hold back my anger or I really would knock him out of the sky. "Really? Catch it then," he said and dropped the vial. As soon as I saw it falling, I dove down for it. As I got closer, I knew it was going to be a close one. I ended up pulling the same stunt that Harry pulled in the first quidditch match when he caught the snitch. I pulled up my feet and set them on the broom to help me pull the broom up before I hit the ground. I caught the vial and pulled the broom higher so I wouldn't fall as Harry did. After balancing myself on the broom again, I went down and got off my broom again. I was once again surrounded by Gryffindors that were cheering. I opened the vial and pulled out my shrunken necklace and cast the reversal spell that Mulciber ut on it. Once it was in its original size, I put it around my neck again. _I am going to have to find a spell that would prevent things likes these from happening again. _I thought to myself. After hugging James and Sirius, I went to Lily and hugged her. "Please don't do that again," she said and I nodded. "I won't scare you like that again, sis. At least not on purpose," I said.

I then noticed McGonagall coming our way. "Oh, shit," I said knowing what was coming. _Well, this should be interesting. _"Hermione Evans, come with me," she said as and I nodded. I let go of Lily and turned to the others. "Don't worry, I'll be fine," I said and I followed McGonagall. We passed Madam Hooch on the way. I followed McGonagall to the class of CMC where she asked the teacher if she could borrow Carter. I then knew that this whole afternoon will most likely end up the same way it did for Harry. _Not if I can help it._ I thought to myself. A boy came out of the class and I recognized him as one of the prefects and a sixth-year student. "Evans, this is Richard Carter. Carter, I found your next seeker," she said smiling and I looked at her shocked. "Thanks for the offer ma'am, but I don't know how to play and besides, what you saw today was just me getting back what was mine from Mulciber. And the race was because he insulted my sister," I said and they both looked at me shocked. "You might not think much of it, Miss Evans, but what I saw today was more than just luck. I saw your skill. A skill that would be helpful on the Quidditch team this year. At least give it a try," she asked me and I looked her in the eyes. I knew that this wouldn't help my mission but I also knew that flying with the quidditch team would make me feel closer to Harry. I sighed and nodded "Alright, I'll try, but I want to try for the other positions as well. I've been told that I have a mean right hook and I would like to try it on a bludger. I'm also pretty fast and good a blocking. I would like to Carter to see which position would I be best at and not just stick to Seeker because you saw me do one thing," I said and smiled at the prefect.

He nodded at me "I can do that. I will test you tomorrow after breakfast to see what position you could be in as well as which one you replace if one of the others are injured." McGonagall left us after that. It was agreed that I would practice on the weekends since I had to keep up with my school work and the days that we practiced on weekdays were only after classes before dinner. When we finished talking, I went to the Library where I knew Lily was going to be and explained to her what happened with McGonagall. She was happy but also worried for me but I reassured her that I would be fine. Sev was glad that I was trying things out but he told me to be careful of Mulciber since he wanted to get back at me for earlier.

It is after dinner right now and I am currently in the Founder's Hall telling papa Godric and papa Salazar what happened today. Papa Godric was very happy for me getting a spot in the quidditch team while papa Salazar was throwing a fuss about me not getting back at Mulciber for taking my necklace. Either way, he said he was happy for me. "Well, princess, we have a few hours before curfew, we can practice with your new magic until then if you want. Or we can try and your control over it so you can use your new wand without fear. It's your pick," papa Godric said and I smiled. "I think I should learn to control my magic with the wand first," I replied. "Alright," papa Godric said and we went to the training ground so I could practice. I first practiced with simple spells and I wouldn't move to another one until I got the spell right. We spent the next few hours doing that until papa Salazar showed up again and said that it was one in the morning. I decided to go to my dorm tonight instead of sleeping in one of the Founder's rooms since it would be suspicious if I didn't sleep in my bed. I said goodnight to the two male founders and used the Door to get to the common room. I went to my dorm, fed Nora and Mitsuki, changed into my pj's and went to sleep.

The next morning, I woke up and did my regular routine. I had finished my homework the day it was given so I had time to change into training clothes and eat breakfast before meeting up with Carter. After feeding Nora and Mitsuki, I showered then changed into some skin-tight clothing and then had Mitsuki wrap around my neck and become a tattoo so he wouldn't be seen. I went to the Great Hall and ate breakfast while reading a book from the ones dad bought me. I took out my wand and started practicing the spells so I could control my magic better. I have to train with papa Godric after lunch so that would help. When I finished my breakfast, Carter came up to me, "Ready to go?" he asked me and I nodded. "Sure," I said and we left the Great Hall to practice.

We spent the next four hours practicing on the pitch. It was fun and every bit of it reminded me of Harry and the Weasley's when I would watch them play. All the memories that I went through while in practice only hardened my goal to take down Voldemort before many people die. Anyway, by the end of it, it was lunchtime and Carter was telling what position I would take. "Well, I'm captain this year and I'm a Chaser, I need a Keeper, two Chasers, a Beater, and a Seeker. You will be one of the Beaters and substitute for Keeper. Tryouts are in two weeks so I will need you there to help me choose the other Beater. We have to make sure that he or she works well with you. Can't have both of you trying to knock the other off their broom. Until then, keep practicing in your spare time," he said and I nodded. Then I remembered what Arthur told me about his brothers-in-law, "What about Fabian and Gideon? Aren't they Chasers?" I asked him and he nodded. "They were last year but I can't guarantee them a spot if this year we get a better batch. It's always been this way. If they are still the best then they will remain Chasers," he said and I nodded. We went to the changing rooms and showered, once I finished with that I summoned clean clothes and changed into them. I sent my dirty clothes to my room and then headed to the Great Hall to eat before going to the Hall and training with papa Godric and papa Salazar.

_~Time skip~_

I was currently training with papa Godric with my fire element. We decided it would be easier to learn to control the elements since they could go wild if I get angry. We started with fire since that is the hardest to control. So far I have been able to move the fire around me but I still can't produce fire from my body. Papa Godric likes my progress though and said that by the end of the month, I would have mastered fire. I am very happy about this and I promised myself to train in my spare time.


	17. Chapter 17

**Published on: 6/14/20**

**Words: 2,375**

**Sorry for the late update. Hope you enjoy!**

**Hermione POV**

It had been a month since school started. Tryouts for the Quidditch team had gone well. Fabian and Gideon had stayed with their Chaser positions. The Keeper is Adam Just, he's a fifth-year student, The other Beater is Benson Lamayne, he's a second-year. And the Seeker is Fabian Fenwick, third-year, with Robert Oliverwood, fourth-year, as a substitute. Fenwick was the substitute Chaser while Victoria Randall, seventh-year, was the substitute for Beater. We have practice every weekend since Tryouts and while most of them doubted me at first, they were completely fine with me after the first and second practice. Lamayne and I work fine together and he was the best Beater that tried out. Fabian and Gideon were beyond happy that I was on the team with them. Everyone in the school was talking about me being on the team and the Marauders with a bit hectic but accepted it. I told them and I would wait for them to join the team as well.

Last month, on the 5th, which happened to be a Sunday, I spent the full moon with Remus. He didn't know it was me since I was there in my animagus. I showed up in my phoenix form and we played until he transformed back. Once he did, I cried on his wounds and healed them. He smiled at me and then I left. Today also happens to be a full moon so once I finish homework, I'm going to start getting ready to spend the night with Remus. Today is Monday the fourth of October so we are getting close to Halloween. The older students are planning a Halloween party just like they did when I first started Hogwarts.

Anyway, right now I'm headed towards my dorm room to change and pack everything I would need to care for Remus. As I packed for tonight, I thought about my training in the past month. I had mastered fire last week and this week we are starting with controlling wind. I was very happy when I mastered fire and I have started thinking of other things that I could do with it that papa Godric hasn't tried before.

After packing everything I needed in my enchanted bag, I waited for the moon to start showing before I left. I told Lily that I was going to be in the Library and left the common room an hour before curfew. Once curfew hit, I went to one of the alcoves that had a window and transformed into my phoenix form and flew to the Whomping Willow. I went through the secret passage knowing that Remus was already there. I dropped my bag in the corner of the room, coincidentally, it was the same room that the truth about Pettigrew was told. I saw Remus sniffing around and I cawed lightly to get his attention but not startle him. He saw me and we played for the rest of the night. He eventually fell asleep and I changing into my panther form and curled next to him to keep him warm. As the moon went down, Remus changed back. I changed to my human form and went to my bag. I pulled a cover out and put it over him. I then took out a set of clothes and laid them next to him. I then took out vials of potions and set them next to the clothes. The vials had labels so he would know what they are for. I then changed back to my phoenix form and slept next to him so I could get a few more hours of sleep.

A few hours later, I felt Remus move and I woke up. I jumped on top of him and let him ruffle my feather before I cried on all his wounds. Once he was healed, I flew to the clothes and shoved them towards him. When he nodded, I turned around and let him change. When he finished, I went to the potions and pecked them lightly, letting him know that he had to drink them. I had made three potions for him. One for the pain, one for soreness, and one for energy. He drank them all and then I picked up the cover and tried shoving it inside my bag without help but it didn't work. I cawed in frustration. I heard Remus chuckle and he came to me. "Let me help you," he said and I moved away so he would do it. After he put the cover inside, he put the potion vials inside as well and then handed me the bag. "Thank you for spending it with me tonight. I hope I get to know who sends you to me one day. Until then, thank you," he said and I nodded. I let him ruffle my feathers before I left in a ball of flames. I showed up again in an empty common room. I flew to my dorm and saw that everyone was still asleep. I changed into my human form and went to shower. After an hour I was ready for the day ahead. I started waking up the girls and then left to go to the Great Hall. I grabbed my bag with all my books and homework and left the girls to change.

On my way to the Great Hall, I started thinking about the way I was going to destroy the Horcruxes. I didn't have a Basilisk fang, nor it's poison, Godric sword wasn't coated in basilisk venom so it can't destroy Horcruxes and the next option was Fiendfyre and that was hard to control. _I could probably destroy it with my fire but that's a long shot all on its own. _I thought to myself. I would also have to get the Horcrux from the Room of Hidden Things. _Damn, I have really been slacking on my job here. I need to get those Horcruxes quickly so I can destroy Voldemort._

Once I got to the Great Hall, I started serving my breakfast. I ate eggs and bacon with french toast since I needed the energy after last night. After half an hour, the Marauders came in followed by Lily and my roommates. Lily sat beside me and Sirius on my other side. James in front of me and Remus on his right with Pettigrew on his left. The girls sat around Lily and started talking. "So where were you last night, Kitten? I noticed you left an hour before curfew but I never saw you come back," Sirius asked making James and Remus look at me waiting for an answer. "I went to the library. By the time I got back to the common room, it was empty. Should have been a little before 11," I answered and they nodded. After a while, the bell rang and we all got up and went to our first class of the day, which happened to be Charms. Lily and I have the highest grades but between the two of us, she's only a little behind me and that is only because I had learned everything before already.

Today we were learning the Wand-Lighting charm. We studied it last class and took notes but we ran out of time to practice it so we are doing that today. I had already practiced all the first year spells with papa Godric so I knew I could do them with my new wand. After casting the spell at the first try, I won our house five points and then just started to drift away. I started planning in my head how I was going to get the venom from Harriet. _I have to go down there when everyone would be busy and I wouldn't be noticed nor missed. I'll have to take the map with me as well to make sure I'm not being followed. Speaking of the map, I should make magical maps of all the wizarding places in Britain just in case, as well as the magical manors that I've gone to. It would help with keeping track of everything and everyone over the summer._

"Miss Evans, can you stay after class for a bit?" Flitwick asked as we all started packing. "Which one?" Lily and I asked at the same time. Flitwick giggled a bit and added, "Sorry, I was speaking to Miss Hermione, you may go, Miss Lily." Lily nodded and left the classroom. I stayed behind and looked at Mr. Flitwick. "Have I done something wrong Professor?" I asked him. "No, child, you're my best student. But I have to wonder, are challenged in this class, my dear? Your papers are more than perfect, but I can't help but think that this class is too easy for you," he said and looking at me worriedly. I sighed, "It's not that the class is too easy, Professor, but I have a lot of free time since I finish all my homework the day that it's given so I grab the spellbook and start practicing the spells that are there. That's why I know the ones that you're teaching easily," I explained and he nodded. "Very well, child. You may go. See you in the next class," he said and I nodded and left for my next class.

_~End of the Day in Dumbledore's office~_

**Flitwick POV**

I am in the Headmaster's office along with the other teacher's to give the usual student report. "Alright, let's start with the seventh-year students. How are they doing in class?" Dumbledore asked and everyone started talking about their classes. We went from seventh-year to first-year students. "Flitwick, anything and your first-years?" Minerva asked. "Now that you mention it, Hermione Evans is an interesting student," I said and Albus looked perplexed. "Why do you say that?" Minerva asked. Pretty sure it's because Miss Evans is one of her lions. "Have you noticed how bright that child is? I asked her today if she was being challenged in the class since her papers are more than perfect and she gets every spell down on the first try. Not even a little hesitance. She even helps out the other students cast the spell. She said it's because she has so much free time on her hands that she practices ahead. Not even her sister, Lily Evans, has so much free time that she practices ahead. I often catch Miss Lily in the Library doing her homework with such concentration that not even a storm will stop her but the days that I catch Miss Hermione, she has books beyond her year level," I said and they all seemed shocked.

Horace spoke up next, "You're right. I have watched Miss Hermione when she's making her potions and not once does she hesitate to add an ingredient or reference with the book the amount stirs needed. She just does it." "She's the same in herbology. And the plants have a weird reaction to her. She walks into the warehouse and the plants all try to move closer to her as to try and get her attention. By the end of class, she's always the last one to leave and takes her time to give each plant attention, and she's even been able to brighten up the plants that I was sure were going to de out," Pomona said. We all looked at Albus and Minerva waiting for them to decide something. "What do you suggest, Minerva? Miss Evans is your student after all," Albus said and everyone looked at her. "I think that starting after Christmas break, she should take advanced classes. If she isn't being challenged in class then we aren't helping her. And if she's as good as not only I have noticed, then I would like to see her grow and not be held back. A caged lion can only hold so much before it starts trying to get away," she said and everyone who had Hermione Evans as a student agreed with Minerva. "Every well, she will have normal classes until the break, when she comes back, she will be taking advanced classes with the third years. This will go on as she moves on each year," Albus said and we all left his office after that. _Hermione Evans, what will you bring to this world?_ This was my last thought before going on my patrols.

**Hermione POV**

I was in the Founder's Hall training with Godric. We were practicing weapons right now since he said I needed a break from my elemental magic. I've told mother Helga that before I start adding greenhouses to the plants in her vault, I first wanted to make sure the current plants in the greenhouses are fine and growing well. I have helped many plants out that were close to drying out and it made me happy that I could help.

"You're getting better," papa Godric as I blocked another of his attacks. "Keep this up and you'll be able to handle yourself with anything in your hand by the time you start your third year," he said and I smiled at him as I attacked him. "Thanks, I need to learn everything that I can to defeat Riddle. I can't allow him to win this time around," I said as I continued to switch from blocking and attacking with my sword. "Magic and physical attacks aren't the only things that could help you win this war, you know that. You also need to outsmart him. He is already ahead of us with his Horcruxes that we have to find and destroy, and then we have to follow his movements to avoid as much collateral damage as possible," I nodded at what he said and started planning on how I was going to stop that.


	18. Chapter 18

**Published on: 7/3/20**

**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I love you guys so much and thank you for the reviews. Please continue.**

**Words: 2,324**

**Hermione POV**

Today is Halloween and also the day that I go to meet Harriet. Again. Tonight, while everyone is at the Halloween feast, I will leave early and head to the chamber. I'm bringing the map with me to make sure no one follows me and to avoid Filch and his cat on my way back. I would also be using the Disillusionment charm to hide just in case. Before going to meet Harriet though, I need to find the Diadem and put is somewhere where I know it's safe. Since today is a Sunday, most students will be going to sleep early because of classes and because of the amount of sugar they will consume tonight.

Right now, it is late afternoon and I'm currently in the underwater study trying to obtain another animagus form. It isn't common and witches and wizards who have more than one animagus form are considered really powerful and really rare. I have three original forms and then a thousand others passed down from papa Godric and papa Salazar. Right now I'm repeating the processes of keeping the mandrake leaf under my tongue. I put the leaf under my tongue the night of the full moon before going to hang out with Remus. I only have to keep it there for two more days since the full moon is on the second of November. I have been doing the enchantment with the potion. Since I don't like waiting, I can make a lightning storm the next day. I also plan on helping Remus become an animagus so it wouldn't hurt him so much when he changes. It is going to be a tough process for him but it would help him until I can get everything I need for the Wolfsbane potion. I can probably give him a strong sleeping potion that would keep him asleep during the transformation and the whole night until the next morning. But that's getting ahead of myself.

I am just about done with planning everything for tonight. I'm going to leave while everyone is at the feast. I will first go to the RR and look for the diadem. Once I have found it, then I would head the chamber. Once in the chamber, I will call Harriet and ask for his venom to destroy the Horcruxes. Then I would come back and place the Diadem in a box that I made with the help of the library to contain the damn thing until I have all of them to destroy at the same time so Voldemort won't notice. Seeing as I have to look for the Diadem in the Room of Hidden Things then it should take a few hours to find it and then about two hours to get what I need from the chamber. I plan to leave the feast at nine so I should be back by two many three in the morning.

I am bringing my small handbag that has the same charms on it as my old beaded bag to hold the vials of venom that I need. It is a wooden box that has a drawer at the bottom. Top and bottom hold 49 vials each and 98 vials in total. Every column I have filed with potions that I have made and I have two columns at the bottom that I plan to fill with basilisk venom.

Since I finished packing everything, I start heading towards the Hall again to use the Door to get to the Great Hall. Since I have been missing all afternoon, I'm sure that Lily and the Marauders would be worried. I had practice with the team all morning so Carter let us have the afternoon off. I think we will be able to beat the Ravenclaw team in November when Quidditch season starts.

As I sat down between Lily and Remus, she turned to me half angry and half worried. "Where were you?" she asked. "Sorry. I found an abandoned music room on the ninth floor and I decided to clean it so I could use it when I feel like practicing without disturbing anyone," I said and she seemed to calm down. "Alright, just tell me next time so I know where to look," she said and I nodded. We started eating when the feast started and we both started talking to our own friends. I still kept my distance from Peter since I couldn't look at him without hating him. Instead, I turned to Remus and started talking to him. "So Remus, ready for the Quidditch season to start next month?" I asked him and he seemed stressed. "Yea. When's the first game?" he asked. "November 10. It's a Wednesday so we have a half-day for classes," I said and he nodded. _He was probably worried about the full moon in two days._ I smiled at him and finished my plate. I looked at my watch and saw that it was 15 minutes past nine. I got up and turned to Lily, "I'm going to bed early since I tired to practice today. You stay and enjoy the feast. See you in the morning," I said and kissed her cheek before leaving the Great Hall.

I used the Door that led me to the Founder's Door and then used the question mark to land across the hall from the RR. I used the map to make sure that no one was in sight and then I went up the portrait and paced three times thinking about the Room of Hidden Things. When the door showed, I went in and took a minute to look at the room. It was a huge mess, "Welp, guess I should start looking," I said to myself and flicked my wand so music could start playing while I searched.

60 songs later (3 hours), I still haven't found the damn Diadem. I knew where t was in my time but it wasn't there yet so that means that between now and then it had switched places. I started talking to myself again, "I'll figure it out. _After_ the basilisk. I will have time then. At least now I know. And there has to be a way to find it. Voldy had to have a plan to find it if he needed it. I just need some sort of a map of this place so I could think of a way to locate the diadem. Not a problem." Just as I was finishing my pep talk with myself, a compass appeared in my hand; a regular, simple compass that pointed north. The room was trying to help her. "How on earth would a compass help me? There must be a way, though. The room wouldn't just give it to me a random compass if it couldn't help," I said to myself.

The wheels were turning in my head. I would have to modify it, of course, but how? I could link similar energies, but then I would need something that would react with the diadem. Another Horcrux? _Should work. _That meant she would have to go after the ring when the basilisk was killed, which wasn't perfect, but... _Wait a second. I could... Yes. Yes! It would work. _"Thank you!" I shouted at the room, before running back the Door so I could get to the common room without being caught.

I felt brilliant. I had a theory and a theory was enough for now. _First the Basilisk and then the experiments. _I knew my priorities. However, I also couldn't deny it was good to visit the room of hidden things. I felt better now, calmer, and more confident in my mission than before my small anxiety attack. I could even put my theory in my note's book now. _Good things come to those who panic it seems._

I got to the common room and saw that it was empty. I walked through the notice-me-not and quietly walked to my dorm. Once inside, I saw that everyone was asleep. I went to my bed and pulled out my book on Horcruxes and started writing down my theory.

**Sirius POV**

I was hidden in the common room when Hermione came through the wall. I knew something was wrong so I went up the wall she came out of. When I got close enough, a door appeared out of nowhere. I tried to push the door open but it wouldn't budge. I had a barrier on it. Which meant that only Hermione could go through it. There might also be one to keep others out even if the door was open so no one would be able to follow her. But I would have to find that out the next time I catch her. "I'll find out what you're up to one day, Hermione. Believe me," I said to myself and went to my dorm to sleep.

**Hermione POV**

After half an hour of writing, I decided to head to the Chamber. It was almost one in the morning so there shouldn't be anyone doing rounds at this time. I made my way to the hidden door in the common room and used it to get to the Founder's Door. Once there, I picked the roman numbers and chose number three. I ended on the third-floor corridor and placed the disillusionment charm on me as I made my way to the girl's bathroom. Once inside, I took off the charm and looked at the bathroom sink. "_Open,_" I said to it and it opened. I went through the hole and then closed the chamber just in case someone came inside.

I made my way through the chamber until I reached the snake engraved door. "_Open._" Once inside, I called for Harriet. "_Harriet, please show yourself to me,_" I said and the statue of Salazar Slytherin opened his mouth and Harriet came out. "_Who are you?_" he asked me. "_Hermione Evans. I'm the Founder's Heir. I came to ask for some help,_" I said and then I looked at him in the eyes and I didn't die. "_You also hold my old master's blood in your veins. How?_" he asked. "_He and the other Founders allowed me to be added to their family tree through blood adoption,_" I answered and he nodded. "_What do you need mistress?_" he asked and I smiled. "_You and I know Tom Riddle. He is the one that set you to kill the muggle-born 30 years ago. That went against what Salazar has left you for. I want to bring down that damn bastard and make him pay for everything he's done,_" I said and he nodded. "_If you could bring him down mistress, I would love to help in any way that I can,_" he said.

"_He has made Horcruxes,_" as soon as those words left my mouth, he hissed angrily. "_You need my venom,_" he said and I nodded. "_I need five vials for the ones he made but I will also need extras because I have a theory that might help me locate them without wasting so much time and having more casualties,_" I said and he nodded. "_Take out your vials, mistress,_" he said and I pulled out my wooden box of vials. I opened the drawer and pulled out the 14 empty vials. I placed one on his fang and started filling it up. An hour later all the vials were filled and I put the box away. "_Do you require anything Harriet? I can imagine that it must be really lonely down here,_" I said and he sighed. "_A way to the forest would be nice. I miss the outdoors. I used to be able to go out but Riddle closed off the exit so I've been stuck here,_" he said and I nodded. "_Take me to the exit and I'll open it up for you,_" I said and followed him to a caved hole. I nodded and put a silencing charm around the are so the castle above wouldn't here me. I put my hands on the rocks and started using my earth magic to move them.

Half an hour later, the exit was open again for Harriet. "_Thank you, mistress,_" he said and I nodded. "_Stay out of sight and if you ever see a werewolf, a rat, a big black dog, a stag, and a wolf together in the forest on the full moon, please don't eat them. The wolf is me and the other three are animagi keep out werewolf friend company. The other three shouldn't be there until our fifth year so it should only be me and the werewolf,_" I said and he nodded. "_Until next time, mistress,_" he said and left to the forest.

I smiled at the leaving snake and then turned around. I headed towards the entrance and opened the chamber. I turned into my phoenix form and flew up to the exit. Once out, I turned back and closed the chamber. I took out my map and made sure that none was around so I could get to the Founder's Door and be able to get to the common room without being caught. When I made it to the common room, I noticed that it was three in the morning. I sighed and went to sleep. Luckily I brew Pepper Up potion a few days ago so I could use that to help me get through the day.


	19. Chapter 19

**Published on: 7/24/20**

**Hey guys. I'm really sorry for the late update. Last week and this week have been hectic for me so I forgot to post. I'm really sorry. Anyway, love you guys and enjoy!**

**Words: 2,545**

**Hermione POV**

It has been two days since I went down to the Chamber. I have been putting my theory on the compass to the test and I am getting close but I can't do anything right now. It is currently an hour before sundown and Remus has already been sent to the Shack. I got the paper with the message that I had to get to him and went on my way to see him.

Once I got to him, he smiled at me "Hey, you gonna spend tonight with me again?" he asked me and I shook my head slowly. I gave him the small note and he read it out loud. "Hello, Remus. I am sorry that I can't spend tonight with you at the Shack. I currently have some errands to run so I won't be here tonight. I will be here in the morning though so I could heal your wounds. I truly am sorry. Love, Talons. P.S. that's just a nickname," he sighed and then nodded. I let him pet me before I left. I flew to the Forest and stayed on a tree until moonrise.

Two hours later, the moon was up. I flew to a clearing that the moon showed clearly. I stood under the moonlight and took out the mandrake leaf from under my tongue and let the moon shine on it before putting it in the vial. I said the spell with my wand over my heart and instantly felt the second heartbeat. I wrapped my hand in the vial and raised my other hand to make the thunderstorm appear only above me and let the rest of the forest have normal weather. I used the wind to lift the vial into the sky until lightning struck it. Once I brought it back down it was blood-red. I smiled and drunk it. I placed my wand in my hoister and then the image of a wolf showed up in my mind. I transformed into a huge wolf with black fur at the top with it turning grey as it got to my stomach. I had grey, almost white, fur on my legs. My tail was black and my eyes were the same color as my human form. I noticed that from paw to shoulder about three feet tall, and from the tip of my nose to the tail, I was seven feet long.

I ran in my new form for about an hour before turning back into my human form. I dispelled the storm above me and turned into my phoenix form. I flew to the Whomping Willow. I went through the passage and then turned into my wolf form. I made my way to the Shack.

Once there, I went to the room where I knew Moony would be in. I pushed the door and stood in front of him. I looked down, laid on the floor, and exposed my neck. He came up to me and put his jaw on my neck and bit my neck. His hold was tight enough to show that he could kill me if he wanted to but he won't. Once he let me go, I stood up and sniffed his neck and he did the same to me. After a while, we started playing around until we both fell asleep. When I woke up, it was almost time for Poppy to come and get him. I got up and changed into my phoenix form. I started crying on his wounds so they would heal. I then grabbed a blanket and put it over Remus. I pecked him until he woke up and he smiled at me. "Thanks," he looked around. "Where's the wolf that was here last night?" he asked and I smiled. I flew a few feet away from him and when I landed, I turned into my wolf form. I then decided to show him some of my other forms. I then turned into my lioness form, then my snake form.

He seemed shocked and then smiled at me. "You're an animagus," he said and I nodded. "Will you show me your human form?" he asked. I thought about it for a while before nodding. I changed into my human form and smiled at him. "Hey, Remus," I said and saw his shocked face turn into one of horror. "How long have you known?" he asked me. "Since I first saw you. You were sick and then on the fifth, you looked like hell so I knew. I decided to spend the time with you so you wouldn't be alone anymore. I don't care that you're a werewolf. You are only a wolf once a month and every day else you are the kind-hearted Remus that everyone knows. Your lycanthropy doesn't change that nor does it make you a monster," I said and he looked at me shocked.

"You really don't care?" he asked and I shook my head. I went to him and hugged him tightly. "You're stuck with me now. I'll be with you for every one of your transformations whether you like it or not," I said as he hugged me tighter. "Thank you," he said and I nodded. I helped walk to the entrance where Poppy would meet him. When we got close, I changed into my phoenix form and stood on his shoulder Poppy saw Remus with me on his shoulder "Who's this?" she asked Remus. "Don't know. She's been accompanying me during the full moon since school started," Remus said and Poppy nodded. I flew off of Remus' shoulder and burst into flames before landing on my bed that was covered by the curtains. It was five in the morning so I plan to sleep for two hours and then last the rest of the day on Pepper Up.

Two hours later I started going over my morning routine. Once done, I noticed that the girls were going to be late if I let them sleep any longer. I went up to Lily and shook her. "Lily, wake up. You're gonna miss breakfast," I said and she finally woke up. "Morning, 'Mione." "Mornin', now get up. I'm heading down to breakfast, you girls should hurry," I said and I left. I met up with Sirius and James in the common room. They were about to follow Peter out of the portrait hole. "Mornin' guys, care if I join you?" I asked them and they nodded. "Sure, 'Mione. After, we can go check on Remus in the hospital wing since he wasn't feeling well yesterday," James said and I nodded happily.

~_Potions Class_~

It was currently the last class of the day. We had potions with the Slytherins so throughout the class there have been many glares. Today, we were brewing the Forgetfulness Potion. I grabbed the Lethe River water, the Valerian sprigs, standard ingredients (which is an herb or mixture of herbs), and the mistletoe berries. I was working on my own since everyone else had partners and there was an uneven amount of Gryffindors. I had this potion memorized so I didn't have to see the book.

I added 2 drops of the Lethe River water to my cauldron. Then I gently heated it for 20 seconds. After I added two drops of the Valerian sprigs and stirred it clockwise three times. I waved my wand over it in an 'S' formation and then left it for 45 minutes. While I waited, I added two measures of a mixture of herbs into a separate bowl. Then I added four mistletoe berries. I crushed this into a medium-fine powder. When 45 minutes were up, I added two pinches of the crushed mixture into the cauldron. I stirred it counterclockwise five times and then waved my wand to finish the potion. I saw it turned into an orange color so I knew I did it right. I bottled it up in a vial and handed it in. I was the first one done and Severus followed me.

I sat on my seat and he sat on the one directly next to me on the Slytherin side. "How did you make the potion without looking at the book once?" he asked me without anyone noticing. "I memorized the book so I didn't need to look at it," I said and he nodded. "How come you haven't hung out with us in a while? I know you're not with those idiots but you're not with us, so where have you been?" he asks me.

"I found a few hiding spots that I stay at when I don't feel like being surrounded by people. James, Remus, and Sirius like to pester me and you and Lily don't drop subjects easily so it is easier to deal with it on my own and then hanging out with you guys with you none the wiser on what bothered me," I said and he nodded. "You know we're your friends for a reason, right? We worry about you," he says and I smiled at him. "I promise that if I can't deal with it on my own then I will go running to you. Better?" I asked him and he nodded.

Half an hour later class was over and Lily, Sev, and I headed to the library. I have homework to start on that was given in the last three days. It might be due next week but I want my free time for this week so I might as well finish it today. I finished my Transfiguration homework and my Herbology homework. I'm just missing Potions, History of Magic, and Charms. I decided to start with my Charms essay and then go to History of Magic since those were the ones most time-consuming.

"Hermione, I noticed that you have been coming late to bed. Why is that?" Lily asked and I looked at Sev with the look that said 'told-you-so'. "Just been walking around the castle when I can't sleep," I said and she nodded. As the hour went by I finished my Charms essay and half of my History essay. I decided to go back to the underwater study and continue to work with the compass. "Alright, I'm tired and my hand hurts. I'll finish later," I said as I started packing my things. "Alright, see you around," Lily said and Sev just nodded. I smiled and kissed Lily's cheek and then I hugged Sev.

I took a detour to put the books that I used away. Luckily, those bookshelves were close to the door that will lead me to the Founder's Door. I made sure no one was looking and I opened the door and went through. As I walked through the pathway to the main door, I sang the chorus part of the password of the main entrance to the Founder's Hall.

_"How does he sleep at night?  
Mama, the nerve of this guy  
To leave me so easy  
Am I gonna be alright?  
I wanna kick myself for fallin' so hard  
Mama, can you die from a broken heart?"_

Once I reached the Founder's Door, I pressed the image of the lake and went through to my underwater study to continue to work.

**Sirius POV**

I had decided to watch Hermione after classes since she has been disappearing for a ridiculous amount of time throughout the day. I have been following her since Halloween but I haven't been able to catch her. I am determined to catch her today. I asked James to use his invisibility cloak to sneak around and watch the Slytherins and he gave it to me. Only told me to give it back by tonight. I had found Hermione in the library with Snivellus and her sister. I watched them for an hour and a half until Hermione got up and packed her things. She left the other two and went to put away her books. Once she finished with that, she went up a wall and started looking around, making sure no one was looking. She got closer to the wall and disappeared. I got close to the wall and saw an open door about to start closing.

I walked through to the door before the same thing that happened last time, happened again. _Looks like I can go through if it is open. _I thought to myself. I followed Hermione through the pathway. She started singing a small part of a song that I haven't heard before. I listened intently to her since I like to hear her sing.

_"How does he sleep at night?  
Mama, the nerve of this guy  
To leave me so easy  
Am I gonna be alright?  
I wanna kick myself for fallin' so hard  
Mama, can you die from a broken heart?"_

Once she finished, we reached the end of the passage and she opened the door in front of her. I walked directly behind her before she could close it. I saw her press an image on the door and then walked through. This door close immediately so I couldn't follow her. I sighed and started to lean on the wall beside the Astronomy exit. Before I could though, the wall turned into a door It was made of dark cedarwood and looked as old as the castle itself. There was a design was that of the Hogwarts crest - it had been inlaid so long ago that it had seeped into the wood itself. I reached for the handle and had almost touched it when it swung open of its own accord.

I walked through and the door closed behind me. I looked around me and saw a staircase. On my left, there was lever and I pulled it once and the stair turned into a track. "Wow," I said as a cart appeared and I got on. I whooped in excitement as the cart dashed through the tracks. When it finally stopped, it landed in front of a portrait. The portrait had all the house animals in it, playing. "Password?" the lion asked me. A tune started playing around me and I knew that it sounded like the verse of the song that Hermione was singing earlier. "I only know one verse, is that alright?" I asked and the raven nodded. I relaxed and sang the verse that I heard Hermione sing. Once I finished, the lion roared and let me through. When I walked into the room, I saw that three out of four walls were covered in books. "If Hermione has access to this, why does she still go to the Hogwarts Library?" I asked myself as a house-elf shows up in front of me.


	20. Chapter 20

**Published on: 8/9/20**

**Words: 2,258**

**Sirius POV**

"Hello, mister. May Luna ask who yous are, mister?" she asked me. "Hello, Luna, I am Sirius Black. Can I ask what is this place?" I asked her and she smiled. "This the Founder's Hall. Misstress Hermione protect this place. She Founder's magical heir. Only she can allow someone in. This place for students that truly want to learn and no use for evil. Only mistress' most trusted allowed in here," Luna explained to me. _So this is where she goes at night. _"Has she brought anyone else here?" I asked and Luna shook her head. "No one else," then she left. _So not even Evans knows of this place. Why would she hide this for her sister? What is she doing that she needs to hide it from her sister?_

More questions kept coming into my mind as I sat down on the Gryffindor colored couch. "Luna," I called and she came. "Is there more than this library in this room?" I asked. "Yes," she answered. "Can I look around?" I asked and she shook her head. "Mistress was clear. Only she show guests around. Guests can only use the library when she not here or when she not give permission. She locked other room from guests," Luna said and I nodded. She left and I decided to sleep while I waited for Hermione to come here.

**Hermione POV**

I was just about finished with the compass. The idea was simple. _As were all of my ideas._ If I could charm it to react to the Basilisk venom instead of the earth's magnetic fields, I might be able to detect the Horcrux. From what Harry told me when he jumped into the lake to get the sword, the locket tried to go in the opposite direction, showing the magical relationship that the two objects had. They were complete opposites. I knew how to search for similar things already. Wizards have done that numerous times using the attraction spell. It helped to find books on the same subject, animals of the same species and even the paintings of the same person. Magic energy would work just as well. I wasn't sure if the opposite spell existed, but it didn't matter in this case, because I had an arrow that pointed south. I would make it work.

The only problem with the attraction spell was that the charm itself was rather simple and didn't perform properly on spell-protected items, which I was sure the Horcrux was since _Accio _was useless. The good news, however, was that I didn't need it to work; I just needed it to be strong enough to point me in the right direction. I was sure a bit of meddling would be able to give me that. The importance of the compass working wasn't lost on me. If I was successful in finding the diadem, I could find other Horcruxes just as easily when I am near them. Finding the ring, diary, and, especially, the cup would be so much faster than I previously thought.

20 minutes later the charm on the compass was complete and ready for testing. I also managed to install a small container in the middle of it that would hold the Basilisk venom. I made it hard to break, so not a single drop of the poisonous liquid would be wasted. I emptied one vial inside and almost instantly got a reaction. _It was working! _The arrows spun for ten seconds straight before stopping. I decided to try it out tonight when no one would follow me.

I got up and started heading towards the Founder's Hall. When I got there, I was taken by surprise when I saw Sirius lying on the Gryffindor colored couch. "Luna," I called and she came. "Since when has he been here?" I asked her. "Since mistress came and left," she said and I nodded. "Ok, thanks, Luna. You may go," I said and she left. "What am I to do with him?" I asked myself and papa Godric showed up. "You could tell him the truth," he said and I shook my head. "He'd insist on helping me. I can't risk that," I said. "You could erase his memories until you're ready to tell him about this place," papa Salazar said as he showed up next to papa Godric.

"For that, I'd have to erase everything he remembered about following me since Halloween," I said and he nodded his head. "I don't see a problem with that," he said and I sighed. "I'd feel like I was running from a problem instead of facing it. Running isn't what Gryffindors do," I said and he groaned while papa Godric smirked. "I think you can make an exception with this one since he followed you under an invisibility cloak. And you will tell him when you are ready," papa Godric explained and I nodded. "Alright," I said and then took out my wand. I pointed it at Sirius and erased his memories of being suspicious of me since Halloween. After that, I disillusioned both of us and took him through the Founder's Door and took him to his bed. I placed the invisibility cloak on James' bed and then canceled the spell on Sirius before leaving. After that, I headed to my dorm for a nap.

When I woke up again, it was close to eight at night. Lily was in the dorm with the other girls. "Hey, guys," I said as I rubbed my eyes. "She wakes," Alice said and I just laughed lightly. "How long until curfew?" I asked and Lily responded "Two hours. What are you going to do?" she asked me. "I'm going to read for a bit. Maybe I can get extra sleeping hours since I have been losing sleep for a while now," I said and Lily nodded. "Tuney sent you a letter," she said and I looked at my desk. Sure enough, there was a letter there from Petunia. I grabbed it and opened it.

_Hey Mione,  
__I'm sorry about what happened at the train station back in September. You were right about how I was feeling and I'm sorry that I hurt you and Lily with what I said. I was just jealous of how you and Lily have magic while I don't. I also feel like you guys won't need me anymore with your magic. It has always been my job to protect you two and now I can't do that. I was just upset. But I'm over it now and I can't wait to see you for the Christmas Holidays. Maybe I can go to Diagon Alley with you two the next time you go so I can see it for myself?  
__Love, Tuney_

I smiled as I finished reading the letter. I took out parchment and wrote a small letter to Tuney.

_Hey Tuney  
__I'm glad that you're not mad anymore. Also, Lily and I will always need you Tuney. You're our older sister, nothing in the world could replace you in our hearts. And we would like it if you accompanied us to Diagon Alley to go Christmas shopping when we get back. We can all pick out something for mom and dad. We could also pick our other Christmas presents from there too if we can't find anything in the regular stores.  
__Love, Mione._

I folded the letter and sent it off with Nova. I then got up and got ready to go to the library. "I'm off now. I'll be back before curfew," I said and Lily nodded. I left and common room and ran to the RR. I had an hour and a half to find the diadem. When I got there, I took the compass out of my pocket and started following the south arrow to where it was hidden. 30 minutes later, I found it in a cabinet with glass doors. The Diadem was inside of it laying on a green decorative pillow.

I expected it to be protected better, or at least not to be on display. Then again, Voldemort was nothing if not a show-off. And I had to be honest, it's not like I found it when I was looking for it. There might have been a few distraction charms placed on it. Not that I cared about that anymore. There were other things on my mind. First of all, I was about to destroy the first Horcrux and I only got my memories back six months ago. Second of all, the compass worked. I couldn't wait to use it again. _First things first. _I thought to myself.

I was reluctant to touch the diadem for the fear of dark curses, but then I realized that my fear was irrational. I already knew that it wasn't going to cause me harm, so after a quick talk with myself, I finally had the Horcrux in my hands. And I wanted to throw it away almost instantly. I felt similar, yet lesser, uneasiness than when I wore the Slytherin's locket; probably because I wore that damned thing for weeks. _Not this time. _I put the Horcrux on the ground and reached in my bag for the goblin made dagger I ordered by owl and coated it in basilisk venom. I wondered if I would see any visions before I aimed it.

"You shouldn't do it." An unfamiliar voice said. I turned around faster than ever before looking for the wizard, wand already aimed, but instead found myself looking at a painting. At the bottom of the frame was the name of the man in the painting. "What the- Merlin?!" I asked surprised. "In the flesh," the wizard's portrait said. "Or rather, in the canvas," he chuckled. "How are you here? I thought there were no portraits made of you." I was too confused to focus on his words. "This is the only one. I asked it to be put where nobody would disturb me once I passed," Merlin answered.

I wasn't sure what was the point of a painting that nobody could talk to or admire, but I wasn't about to question Merlin. "My name is Hermione. I used the box you created." I offered. "You did?" "Yes," I answered and noted his surprised look. "And it brought me here," I continued. "I don't know how much you know about the outside world, but I'm here to stop an extremely evil wizard named Voldemort. That's why I need to destroy this diadem," I pointed to the ground.

"It was Rowena Ravenclaw's," he said as if it was sacred. "The legacy of one of the founders. A piece of history that the world will never be able to get back if you destroy it." "I know, but it is also a Horcrux," I pointed out, even though I suspected he already knew that. "I don't want to destroy it either, trust me, but the piece of soul inside of it needs to go. I made my peace with it long ago. Destroying the object that the soul is in is the only way."

"The only way you're aware of," was all Merlin said. "Excuse me?" I asked him. "There is- how much do you know about me?" The wizard asked suddenly. "Of my personal life story?" he continued. "I know that you were a Slytherin. You used the Celt's treasure to create the box. Many call you father of magic since you pushed the barriers of magic far. And that because of Mrs. Aurora Gamp, I am the heir to your entire fortune," I said and then looked at him waiting for an answer.

"Well, so you have everything you need," I looked at him confused. "Inside of my vault, there are many books. One of those books has a recipe to a potion that will help you save Rowena's diadem," he finished and I was shocked. "But would it destroy the piece of Voldemort's soul inside of it?" I questioned, still full of doubts. "It would," he said. _Oh, Merlin_. I thought.

On one hand, I could save part of history. After the war, I always hated Voldemort for using something so important for his Horcruxes and all but forcing us to destroy them. The only thing that made me feel better was that it was the only way. _Not anymore, however_. On the other hand, the diadem was here. I could finish with this Horcrux once and for all right now and cross it off my list. I had the tools; it would take seconds.

Yes, I could do it now; I could also destroy it at any point. Plus, would I be able to forgive myself for not at least _trying_ to find the potion first? And I didn't need to have the diadem with me at all times; I could keep it in an enchanted box inside of my endless purse. "Okay, I'll do it. I'll look for the book with the potion recipe inside," I stated and saw Merlin begin to smile. "But I'm taking your portrait to the Founder's Hall so you can help me," I smirked.


	21. Chapter 21

**Published on: 9/4/20**

**Words: 2,834**

**I'm sorry for taking so long but it took me a while to figure how how to make this chapter happen. I hope you enjoy it. Love you guys. **

**Hermione POV**

After my talk with Merlin, I had brought his painting to the Founder's Hall where the Founder's talked to him about old times. I started thinking of days that I could leave Hogwarts and check out Merlin's vault. Merlin had told me what the book looked like. It was a bright red book with gold embedded corners and a red strap to lock the book. He also told me that if it wasn't in his vault then it would be in his home. The Key of which is in the vault and I can have it if it accepts me, so I would be going through another test. Should I gain access, then I would also be allowed in Merlin's other vaults as well as his family homes. I never expected to be so rich when I decided to travel through time.

All of this happened a week ago, so today is November 10. Today is the first Quidditch game for Gryffindor against Slytherin. Everyone is excited to watch and the team is especially excited about beating Slytherin. No matter what year, Slytherin and Gryffindor just don't like each other. Everyone was in the locker room at the moment getting ready for the first match. I had gotten a Silver Arrow from McGonagall. It's the fastest broom made thus far. I'll have to wait for the Firebolt that comes out in 1993 to get a faster broom. For some reason, before coming back in time, I got used to going fast, and even now, I love and crave it more than ever.

Anyway, we are making our way to the pitch right now. Carter is at the front of the line with me behind him. Behind me are the twins, Fabian and Gideon. Then it's Adam, the Keeper, and after is the other Beater and the Seeker. We all started mounting our brooms and I continued to admire my new one. It reaches up to 70 miles an hour and its tailwind is decent for this time. The Cleensweeps might be newer but I like this one better. I also had the wooden part carved with a lion.

After mounting our brooms we heard the commentator start speaking. "Welcome to the first game of the season, the Gryffindor – Slytherin match, commentated by yours truly. This year, Gryffindor's team is captained by Carter, Chaser, and Slytherin's is captained by Ndiaye, Beater," a Hufflepuff commentated. I watched the Slytherins flew out from their side of the stadium, squinting to see through the snow, half-listening to the Hufflepuff's introduction. "Here come the Slytherins, with Parrish, Cooper, and Beauregard as their reserves, and Catharina Vega as Seeker. Yole Ndiaye, their Captain, Demetri Dragnoff as Beaters, Cassius Ellwood-Luxe, George Marx, and Lucas Carvery as Chasers, and Brinley Grisham as Keeper." I looked at the Slytherins as they flew a lap around the stadium. "Not a bad lineup, I'll say. The only thing I'm afraid is that Slytherin's Beaters will knock themselves out with their clubs," Carter said, amused.

Carter looked at us, showing no emotion as he looked into the eyes of all of us. "Ready?" he asked the team, and we gave him small nods. "If they hurt you, hurt them back," he said. He mounted his broom, and took off, the team following close behind him. Immediately, his goggles were covered in snowflakes, as were the rest of my teammates.

"This year, Gryffindor's lineup is Richard Carter as Chaser, and the Prewett twins as Chasers, Benson Lamayne and Hermione Evans as Beaters, Adam Just as Keeper, and Fabian Fenwick as Seeker," said Smith, as Carter and the team made our lap around the stadium. The two teams met at the center of the stadium, the Captains in the middle. Carter nodded at Ndiaye, a mild, neutral gesture, which was ignored by the Slytherin captain. "Hopefully Evans is a good Beater—she the youngest of the team and looks pretty small," said the Hufflepuff. There was a wave of laughter coming from the snow-covered Slytherin bleachers. "As always, this match is refereed by Madam Hooch. Looks like there are high tensions on the field," said the boy. He was right.

Carter looked around at our teammates, who were staring at the Slytherins with narrowed eyes. I couldn't blame them. The Slytherins were avid cheaters. Madam Hooch opened the crate that held the balls. She unclipped the Bludgers, and they zoomed from the crate. Next, Madam Hooch released the Snitch, and Fenwick's eyes followed it until it was out of sight. The referee held the Quaffle in her hands poised to throw it upwards. In my peripheral vision, I noticed Carter, Fabian, and Gideon tense up, ready to fight for the Quaffle.

"Let the game... begin!" said the Puff, as Madam Hooch threw the Quaffle up into the air. Immediately, all six Chasers jumped on the Quaffle, until Marx emerged with the Quaffle tucked under his arm. The Slytherins gathered into an arrow formation, flying straight towards Adam. Benson and I flew right behind Carter, Fabian, and Gideon, as they charged headlong towards the other team. I winced as he saw Fabian tackle Carvery, knocking him into Marx. For mere seconds, the Quaffle was in the air, until Richard approached it. Just as he wrapped his arm around it, Dragnoff slammed into him, knocking it from his grasp. "Carter!" I nearly shouted.

Through the snow, I watched as Ndiaye grabbed the Quaffle from the air, heading towards the goalposts. I saw Adam get ready, looking attentively at the oncoming Chaser. "Come on, Adam," I muttered, as Ndiaye punched the Quaffle towards the right goalpost. Adam zoomed towards the goalpost and kicked the Quaffle away. I let out a sigh of relief as Adam held a fist in the air, pumping it happily. "Yes! Yeah!" Adam shouted, looking to where the Gryffindors were sitting. They clapped and cheered. "Good save by Just! Looks like he's improved since last year," said the Puff impressed.

I heard the sound of a bludger hitting a bat, and instinctively, I turned around, to see a Bludger zooming straight towards my head. "Whoa!" I yelled as I hit the bludger back where it came from. The violent ball flew past my teammates and went towards Ndiaye. The bludger hit his broom, breaking it in half and making him fall to the ground. I looked at the Slytherin's reserved players and saw Chelsea Parrish mount her broom and join the game. I watched as Richard, Fabian, and Gideon flew towards the Slytherin goalposts, passing the Quaffle back and forth, making even me dizzy. Benson followed closely behind Fabian, hitting a Bludger towards Grisham. The Slytherin Keeper was distracted, giving Gideon enough time to lob the Quaffle into the hoop. "Yeah! Go, Gideon!" I yelled, grinning.

"Score for Gryffindor, in the lead by ten to nothing!" Grisham passed the Quaffle to Ellwood, who flew back to the Gryffindor's side, flanked by two Beaters. I noticed this and followed them. "Watch out, Adam!" I yelled as Parrish hit a Bludger towards Adam. I hit the Bludger back towards them, narrowly missing Ndiaye's head. Parrish tried to punch my goggles, but I blocked him and hit his head with the back of my broom before flying away towards another bludger. Ellwood threw the Quaffle towards the center goalpost, but Adam caught it, right before it went through. "Nice one, Just!" said Benson. Adam threw the Quaffle to Fabian, who looked at Carter. He nodded at him and turned to the rest of the team.

"Weakest Link!" he called to them. The Gryffindors knew it by heart—the special play that the old captain, Fabian, and Gideon came up with a few years ago was still being used. The other teams still hadn't figured it out. They formed a line as they zoomed towards the other side of the pitch, Benson in the front, Fenwick, Fabian, Gideon in the middle with the Quaffle, Richard, and me at the end. "Fenwick!" Richard yelled, pointing off to who-knows-where. This was all part of the plan, of course, and Fenwick zoomed off, breaking out from the line, in pursuit of nothing, to distract Vega, and possibly put her out of play for a few minutes.

As dimwitted as Vega was, she followed Fenwick towards the bleachers, thinking the opposing Seeker had found the Snitch. The Puff thought the same thing. "Looks like Fenwick's found the Snitch! Vega had better catch up if she wants to win this game," said the Puff. The rest were flying closer and closer to the Slytherin's side, as we broke out of the line, with Benson and I jumping onto Parrish and Dragnoff, sending them hurtling towards the ground. "Aggressive! Parrish and Dragnoff look a little shaken!" said the Puff.

Richard, Fabian, and Gideon flew in an arrowhead formation until they approached the Slytherin Chasers. Fabian and Gideon tackled Ellwood and Marx, with Carvery chasing Richard, who had the Quaffle. He sped towards the goal, with Carvery close behind him. Grisham zoomed up to meet him, but he took a hard turn, slamming Carvery into Grisham as he threw the Quaffle into the hoop. "And it's twenty to nothing, Gryffindor lead. Vega and Fenwick are still chasing the Snitch, I see." Fenwick flew closer and closer to the bleachers, Vega only inches away from him, squinting to see if he was chasing the Snitch. "Too late," said Fenwick, smiling at the Slytherin, as he suddenly stopped. Vega crashed into the bleachers, earning a boo from the Slytherins, and a cheer from the Gryffindors.

"Nasty plot by the Gryffindor Seeker, I see. Vega's trying to pick herself up," said the Puff, as the Slytherin Seeker pushed herself off the ground, reaching for his broom. Ellwood held the Quaffle, flanked by two Chasers, flying towards Adam again. Gideon, Richard, and Fabian flew to meet them but were hit aside by Marx, Carvery, and a Bludger ferociously hit by Parrish.

I saw a Gryffindor with a yellow six on their back, and a Slytherin with a black four, collide with a sickening crunch. I winced seeing Richard hurtle towards the ground, followed by Marx. Fabian sped forward, following Carvey. Benson slammed into her, knocking the Quaffle from Ellwood. Fabian swooped under him, catching the Quaffle. He passed it to Richard, who'd recovered from her fall, dodging bludgers hit by Parrish. Fabian threw it to Gideon. He caught it, hugging it close to his body. Marx approached him, but he passed it back to Fabian, who was closest to the goalposts.

Fabian pulled his broom from under him, and for a few seconds, it looked like he was suspended in air, as he bats the Quaffle towards the right goal hoop. Grisham didn't get there in time, and the Quaffle flew through. Richard sped towards Fabian, giving him a high-five as he passed him. "And it's good! Gryffindor lead, thirty to nothing!"

Back and forth, Gryffindor scored, and Slytherin _tried_ to score. "I think it's clear who's gonna win this game. It's seventy to nothing, Gryffindor lead!" In the corner of his eye, Fenwick saw a glint of gold, and he flew after it. Vega, close by, was hesitant to follow him. "Is it the Snitch this time?" The Puff asked. Parrish flew close to Fenwick, trying to knock him off track. He kicked Fenwick's ear, which earned a groan from the latter. He clutched his ear with his left hand, his right hand holding onto the broom. "Bloody hell," Fenwick moaned his vision blurring, despite his glasses. He flew faster, right hand outstretched, the Snitch just barely out of his grasp. "C'mon! Faster!" he said to himself, his hand inching closer to the Snitch.

Suddenly, Marx rammed into him, sending Fenwick hurtling away from the Snitch. Fenwick felt his neck crack, wincing, as the Gryffindors moaned in disappointment. Carvery came flying towards Fenwick, punched him in the nose, breaking it, and knocked the Gryffindor Seeker off his broom. Fenwick fell towards the ground, slightly limp. "Time out!" yelled one of my teammates as I flew towards Fenwick to catch him.

I caught him and placed him on my broom as I flew to the ground. "Are you alright, Fenwick?" I asked, holding him upright on my broom. He nodded numbly and watched as Fabian flew towards them, with Fenwick's broom in his hand, as he and I landed on the snowy ground. We laid him down, and Fabian took out his wand. By then, Benson, Richard, Gideon, and Adam had landed, standing around our limp Seeker. "Bloody hell, those Slytherins need to get a taste of their own medicine," growled Benson to Richard, gripping his Beater's bat tightly.

The Slytherin team was flying around them, laughing at Fenwick's bloody face. "_Episkey_,_" _said Fabian, tapping his nose with his wand. Fenwick moaned in pain as the familiar sensation of his nose snapping back into its place filled his head. "Do you want Robert to fill in for you, or will you be okay?" asked Gideon, looking at a determined Richard. Fenwick met Richard's eyes and shook his head. "I'll be fine. I just need to break Vega's nose first," he said grimly, and our teammates laughed. "Are you ready? Do you need to call for a substitution?" Madam Hooch asked, flying close to us. We shook our heads, helping Fenwick back onto his broom.

"Prewett Wrangler?" he asked his teammates, who nodded. The Prewett Wrangler was also a play made by Fabian and Gideon, made specifically for hurting the opposing team. Benson and I grinned wickedly at Fenwick, then to the Slytherins. Fabian and Gideon had taught it to us since they were Beaters before changing to Chasers. "Let's do it," said Benson, as Adam flew back to the goal hoops. Madam Hooch blew the whistle, throwing the Quaffle to Gideon. Benson and I grinned at each other, and flew towards Vega, following her. A bludger flew towards Benson, but he and I hit it back and forth to each other, getting further and further away from each other until they were next to Vega. Benson hit the bludger, hard, at Vega—and it winded him, sending him flying. "Yeah!" I yelled as we flew closer to the Slytherin Chasers. "Ready, Benson?"

"Ready, Mya!" Benson said to me using the nickname that the team had started calling me after a few practice sessions. Benson hit another bludger towards Marx, which caught him off-guard. I flew behind Marx, hitting the bludger towards Carvery. The Slytherin Chaser dodged it, grinning toothily at me. "You missed," he said, sneering. "Did I?" I asked as Benson hit Carvery in the back with the bludger. We high-fived as Carvery dropped towards the ground. "Mya, Benson!" yelled Fabian. We nodded at him, and flew in front, hitting a bludger back and forth to each other. Grisham's eyes grew wide as we and Fabian approached him. "Yeah!" I yelled as I hit the Slytherin Keeper in the stomach with the bludger. Fabian tossed the Quaffle through the hoop, and high-fived Richard as he flew by.

Meanwhile, Fenwick had seen the Snitch. The snow beat against his goggles, and he had to wipe them once, just to be able to see. He flew closer and closer to the Snitch, but suddenly, a bludger came out of nowhere, hitting Fenwick's outstretched arm. "Augh!" he groaned, not believing his luck. He stretched out his other arm, his gloved fingers almost touching the small, golden ball. He winced as his ear throbbed, and had to put his hand on his ear, the hand attached to the broken arm. Pain pulsed through both his ear and his arm, but he stretched forward anyways, and his fingers curled around the small ball. "Got it!" he yelled triumphantly, smiling.

"Yeah!" he yelled, holding it up in the air, still clutching his ear with his other hand. Madam Hooch blew her whistle, signaling for the game to end. "And it's over! Gryffindor wins! This has got to be Slytherin's most embarrassing loss, two hundred thirty to nothing!" cried the Puff. "Go, Fenwick!" cheered Adam, as the rest of the Gryffindor team gathered around Fenwick, patting him on the back—except Gideon made the mistake of hitting Fenwick's broken arm. Fenwick winced but smiled at Gideon nonetheless. I hugged him close and smiled as he patted my head with his good hand.


	22. Chapter 22

**Published on: 10/4/20**

**Words: 2,918**

**Sorry for the late update. It's really killing me not being able to update on time. I hope you enjoy this chapter. The song is called The Twist by Chubby Checker.**

**Hermione POV**

After the game, the whole Gryffindor team went to shower and then to celebrate in the common room with the rest of the house. The party was going to last until midnight but the first and second years had to go to sleep at 10 at the lastest since we still have class tomorrow. I'm pretty sure this is so that the older kids can start getting drunk. Anyway, I got away from the crowd for a bit so I could go to the Founder's Hall and tell papa Godric and the others about the game. They were very happy about our win, though papa Salazar was a bit crossed between being happy for me or being mad at his house for losing to Gryffindor. He decided to be happy for me. After telling them about the game, they told me to go back to the common room for the party.

When I got there, everyone was listening to music and dancing. Fabian and Gideon had managed to get the house elves to bring food and drinks to the common room for us. I decided to spend the party near those two since my sister was with our dormmates and I didn't want to be near them. They are nice and all but I still feel like I'm walking among the dead with them. It's different when I'm around Fabian and Gideon since they remind me of Fred and George so I have some sort of connection to them. "Enjoying the party?" Fabian asked me. "Yeah. But if you could put some muggle songs for us muggle-borns, it would be nice," I said with a smile on my face. "And what muggle songs do you suggest, Miss Evans?" Gideon asked me. "Well, give me a minute to go upstairs and I'll bring down one of my records for you to play," I said and went to grab Lily.

We went to my room and went through the records that I brought with me. We decided on an oldie that came out in 1960. I'm pretty sure that all muggle-borns remember this song and maybe even a few half-bloods. We ran downstairs and Lily went to gather the muggle-borns while I went to the twins to give them the record. They cut the music and I spoke up, "Hello, everyone. Now I know we're enjoying this amazing party but I think we can't enjoy this party to the fullest without at least one muggle song. So I want all the muggle-borns to grab a pureblood and show them the dance moves to this oldie and if any half-bloods know this song then help the purebloods with it," I said, and then I went to Lily and we got ready to dance. Fabian put the song on and the muggle-borns started to get excited.

Come on, baby  
Let's do the twist  
Come on, baby  
Let's do the twist  
Take me by my little hand  
And go like this

E-yah, twist  
Baby, baby, twist  
Ooh yeah, just like this  
Come on, little miss, and do the twist

My daddy is sleepin'  
And mama ain't around  
Yeah, daddy's just sleepin'  
And mama ain't around  
We're gonna twisty, twisty, twisty  
'Til we tear the house down

Come on and twist  
Yeah, baby, twist  
Ooh yeah, just like this  
Come on, little miss, and do the twist  
E-yah

Yeah, you should see my little sis  
You should see my, my little sis  
She really knows how to rock  
She knows how to twist

Come on and twist  
Yeah, baby twist  
Ooh yeah, just like this  
Come on, little miss, and do the twist

Yeah  
That's all right  
Yeah, twist all night  
Twist  
('Round and 'round and 'round)

Throughout the song, most of the purebloods got the moves and danced with us. Even Fabian and Gideon danced. The song was played twice for everyone to learn it, and one time so everyone could dance to it. And then we went on with Wizarding songs. When ten o'clock came around all the first through third years were sent to their dorms to sleep while the older kids continued. A silencing charm was put around the common room so the noise would reach the sleeping kids.

_~Next Morning~_

When I woke up the next morning, I went through my morning routine and got ready for the day. The good thing about my old memories is that I can still wake up even with a few hours of sleep. It took a while to get my body used to it but I got it. This is a precaution just in case I need to take a year off again to find the Horcruxes on my own. I don't want any more people to get hurt. I wish I could save everyone, but I can. But I will save as many innocent people as I can.

Once I finished with everything, I went downstairs to the common room and saw that it wasn't a mess like the parties that Fred and George hosted. The common room was neat and tidy. I decided to go and wake up the boys before going down to the Great Hall. I went back upstairs and headed to the boys' room.

When I got to the room I nearly had a heart attack. The whole room was a mess. There were clothes everywhere, along with shoes and their bags. The only place that seemed even slightly clean was Remus' sides to the room, where it looked like he was trying to keep the mess out. The room even smelled awful. "Ugh," I said and waved my wand over the room and cleared out the mess along with the smell. I cleaned up their bags and their uniform and sent the extra clothes to be washed by the elves. I don't like using them but I'm sure they wouldn't mind the work. "Tippy," I called. "Yes, miss," she asked as she showed up next to me. "I sent the boys' clothes to be washed, can you have it here, and put away by the end of classes today?" I asked her, and she smiled. "Sure, miss. The clothes be ready by then," she said and left. After that, I cast an Aguamenti on all of them to wake them up.

"Ah!" Sirius and Pete yelled as Remus and James fell off their beds. I laughed at their reactions and dried them quickly. "That was mean, 'Mione," Sirius said and I shrugged. "That's what you get for having this room too damn dirty. I just finished cleaning it," I said as giggled as James and Sirius' face turned into one of horror. "YOU DID WHAT!" they yelled and looked around. "NO! YOU EVIL WOMAN!" James yelled at me. "How could you do such a thing!" Sirius continued. Remus suddenly joined in, "I think what she did is amazing. I've been trying to clean this room for elves won't even come in here to clean," he said as he turned to me. I smiled at him, "Well, you have twenty minutes until breakfast starts so you might want to start getting ready. I'll wait in the common room for Remus to finish since it will take a lifetime for Sirius and James to finish getting ready," I said and walked downstairs.

I sat on one of the couches and took out one of my books from my bag and started reading while I waited for Remus. After ten minutes, I heard Remus' footsteps coming down the stairs. "Ready to go?" he asked me and I smiled at him. "Yeah," I said as I put my book back in my bag and then walked with him around the castle until it was time for breakfast to begin. "So, thanks for cleaning out the room. They wouldn't let me do it so the least I was able to do is keep my side clean," he said and I smiled. "My pleasure. I've been in there once and I couldn't stand it for more than five minutes. The house-elves agreed to have all the clothes clean and put away by the time classes ended and I got rid of that awful odor that haunted the dorm. I never want to see that again," I said and he just laughed.

When breakfast started, we decided to continue to talk until the other got down. Lily and the girls were the first to join us along with a few older years from every house. After twenty minutes, James, Sirius, and Peter joined us. This is when Remus and I decided to serve our plates too. I grabbed Remus's plate while he grabbed mine. I filled his plate with some scrambled eggs and a lot of undercooked bacon and sausages with some toast. I set his plate down in front of him and started serving his hot chocolate. By the time I finished, Remus had already served me my plate and hot chocolate. "What the fuck just happened?" James asked. "This is the first time you're seeing it?" Sirius asked him. "They have been doing this since the beginning of October. The last time I tried to serve her hot chocolate, she didn't even touch it," Sirius said.

Remus chuckled and said, "That's because Hermione only has hot chocolate on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. She has chamomile tea all the other days." Then Peter spoke, "But when I tried to serve her tea she didn't touch it either," and Remus continued to smile, "Because she doesn't like milk with her tea, she likes it with only sugar." "How come Remus can't make his plate, then?" James asked and this time I chuckled. "Remus likes a small number of eggs with lots of bacon and sausages along with some toast with hot chocolate as a drink every day," I said and watched Remus smile at me. "But there is bacon next to him and Peter," James said. "The bacon and sausages between him and Peter are overcooked. Remus likes them a little on the rare side," I finished and started eating my breakfast. "Weirdos," I heard James say and I just smirked and looked at Remus and saw him smirking too. After that, we all finished and started heading to our classes for the day.

Today I have Transfiguration, then Charms, and after that, I have History of Magic. After my morning classes, I have lunch and then I go to Herbology, Potions, and then at night, I have Astronomy. I'm in for an interesting day. I headed to Transfiguration with the others following me. James and Sirius still get lost sometimes so they follow me since McGonagall nearly had their heads the last time they were late. Today we were learning how to untransfigure something. We took the notes last class but I knew that Peter still doesn't get it so I'll help him once I'm done. I'm trying to be nicer to him since he hasn't done anything yet so maybe I could save him. I still have to find a way to save Rodolphus and Rabastian. And a way to save the families that will be attacked for 'training' purposes. I think it's about time I start training with mother Rowena on my divination powers. I need to know when the attacks on muggles start so I can start planning on how to save them. Or at least the children of those families. I know for a fact that some of the families that were attacked before were families that muggle-borns were born into. Whether that was by accident or on purpose, I have yet to find out.

Anyway, that would be a conversation to have after my day of classes. Right now, I have to pay attention to McGonagall or she will notice that my mind is elsewhere. I sat down next to Remus like I always do with Peter, James, and Sirius behind us. McGonagall soon started the class and we began trying to untransfigure the cauldrons with tails and animal heads that were in front of us. I pointed my wand at my owl-headed cauldron, made the wand movements, and said "Reparifarge." The cauldron started spinning before turning into one of the school owls. I smiled at him and patted his head. I got bored so I started turning the owl into different kinds of things. A teapot, tissue box, cup, quill, bunny, mouse, miniature dragon, and then back to his original form. I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned around to look at James.

"What?" I asked him. "Can you help me?" he asked and I nodded. I stood up and went to correct his posture and wand hold before instructing him on the wand movements and the pronunciation of the spell. Then he tried it and smiled at me when the cauldron turned back into a cat. I turned to Sirius and raised my eyebrow, asking if he needed help. He nodded and I did the same to him. I turned to Peter and helped him. He smiled brightly at me and I smiled back when he got the spell right. I walked around the Gryffindor side of the room and helped where I could. Then I moved to the Slytherin side and helped them too. They were shocked that I would help them but accepted it and even cracked a few small smiles when they got it right. I sat down on my seat after I got to everyone and then just waited for McGonagall to finish the class.

_~Potions class~_

Today we were working on the Cure for Boils potion. I was partnered with Remus, James with Sirius, and Peter with Frank. I somehow knew that Frank's affinity for potions was the same for Neville. _Well, now I know why Neville sucks at it. And did worse with Snape as our professor, _I thought to myself. I started preparing the cauldron while Remus got the ingredients. "So, I'll make the potion and you prepare the ingredients or you wanna make the potion?" I asked Remus when he got back from the cupboard. "You make the potion. All these smells are killing me right now," he said and I nodded. I flipped the pages until the one with the potion instruction came up and I gave it to Remus. I already knew how to make the potion by heart. I started on the mortar and added six snake fangs and let Remus crush it into a fine powder using the pestle. I added four measures of the crushed fangs into my cauldron and let it heat at 250 degrees for 10 seconds. Then I waved my wand in an 'S' form and left it to brew for 33 minutes.

While I waited, I helped Remus prepare the rest of the ingredients for the second part of the potion. "Keep an eye on Frank and Peter for me, I have a feeling they are going to blow up their potion," I told Remus as the times finally went off. I added four horned-slugs to the cauldron. Then I took it off the fire and then added two porcupine quills to it. I stirred it five times clockwise and then waved my wand again to complete it. I called Slughorn over and he congratulated Remus and me on a perfect potion. Remus and I vialed our potion and turned them in. I then turned to Frank and Peter and saw that they were about to add the porcupine quills. "Oh no," I said and ran to them. Frank was about to let the quills go before I grabbed onto his hand and moved it away from the cauldron. "What the hell, Hermione. I was about to finish the potion," Frank said and I nodded. "That's why I had to stop you. Frank, you suppose to take the cauldron off the fire before adding the porcupine quills or you'll end up causing boils instead of curing them," I said and then looked at the potion and saw that even if they did take it off, it would have exploded.

"It would have exploded anyway. You're missing the horned slugs," I said and put the cauldron back on the fire and fixed it a bit, and then added the slugs. Then I took the cauldron off the fire and added the two quills. I had Frank wave his wand over the cauldron and then watched as he vialed the potion and so did Peter. "Thanks, 'Mione," Peter said to me and I smiled. "You two need help. We're in the same house and year, come to me if you ever need help to study or anything. I won't bite," I said and then walked back to my table and started reading a book while I waited for class to end.


	23. Chapter 23

**Published on: 11/12/20**

**Words: 105**

Hello, everyone. I'm sorry but this isn't a new chapter. I am working on it but I've hit a roadblock. I don't know how to continue this story. I know what is to come but I don't know how to get there past the point where I ended it in the last chapter. I would like for you to send me suggestions on what you want to happen or how you think I should continue this story. I love you all and thank you for reading. Can't wait to see your suggestions!


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